Super League: Huddersfield 26-12 Hull KR - Giants edge to win over battling Rovers

Huddersfield ran in three first-half tries to set themselves on the road to victory

Huddersfield Giants were made to sweat before edging home to their second Super League win of the season.

After turning around 16-0 up with tries from Chris McQueen, Luke Yates and Josh Jones, Jermaine McGillvary's early second-half try took them out to 20-0.

Jordan Abdull converted tries from Brad Takairangi and Mikey Lewis to get Rovers back within eight points.

But, although the Giants were down to 12 men after Chris Hill's yellow card, McQueen's second try clinched victory.

Giants backed up last Saturday night's win in Toulouse as they matched the winning starts also made by St Helens, Wigan and Warrington. But it was a second straight defeat for Tony Smith's Robins against the club where he began his coaching career.

Rovers, who made the play-offs last season, lost last week's opener against Wigan, But only in the last 20 minutes did they look like getting anything out of this one -and the ended it with a shoulder injury for full-back Will Dagger,

Huddersfield forward Chris McQueen has started the new Super League season with three tries in two games

On a pitch which held up remarkably well to Storm Eunice and a morning mixture of steady rain and snow, Huddersfield went ahead when Rovers could not deal with a high Theo Fages bomb to the corner, from which Leroy Cudjoe set up McQueen.

Yates then ran onto a short Danny Levi pass for the Giants' second try before Jones dummied his way through for try number three - before Fages and Tui Lolohea combined for McGillvary to stretch thei Giants' lead straight after the break.

Rovers got on the scoresheet when Takairangi ran onto a neat Abdull grubber before a second try from Lewis suddenly raised expectations - especially whe Hill was sin-binned for an altercation with Lewis.

But McQueen claimed his second and Giants' fifth try, converted by Lolohea, with the last play of the game as the Giants got home at the cost only of Innes Senior suffering a cut eye.

Huddersfield now face a trip to Wigan on Thursday night when two 100 per cent records will be on the line, while Hull KR are back in action a night later when they host a Castleford side also looking for their first point.

Huddersfield coach Ian Watson:

"We knew Hull KR would come and try and compete with us. They have very good backs and a good forward pack. But our pack were very physical in the first half and got on top.

"Maybe we lost a bit of focus and concentration in the second half, but the amount of effort we put into defending our goal-line in that half was impressive.

"Korbin Sims nearly went over and we had great defence to get underneath him through Theo Fages. They nearly scored in the corner through Ryan Hall and again Theo and Jez McGillvary held him up, then put him in touch. These are defining moments in the game.

"Chris Hill is unsure as to why he was sin-binned but he's obviously done something to upset the referee. I'll have to have another look at that to see what it was all about."

Hull KR boss Tony Smith:

"It's not often that you play for just 20 minutes and win a game.

"We couldn't get going until the last 20 minutes.

"We have to learn to play earlier."

Huddersfield: Lolohea; I Senior, Leutele, Cudjoe, McGillvary; Fages, Russell; Yates, Jones, McQueen, Trout, Levi, Hill.

Interchange: English, Ikahihifo, Greenwood, O'Brien.

Sin bin: Hill (74)

Hull KR: Dagger; Wood, Takairangi, Kenny-Dowall, Hall; Lewis, Abdull; King, Litten, Sims, Hadley, Linnett, Halton.

Interchange: Parcell, Keinhorst, Richards, Garratt.

Referee: Robert Hicks

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