Super League: Huddersfield Giants 22-16 Hull FC - Hosts pull clear in third

Danny Levi's late double was key to Huddersfield's fightback

Huddersfield Giants left it late to overcome fellow play-off hopefuls Hull FC with a victory that bolsters their Super League top-four hopes.

Ian Watson's side did not have the lead until the 76th minute, when Will Pryce converted Danny Levi's score.

Hull had led 16-6 through tries from Jack Walker, Connor Wynne and Ellis Longstaff, with Tui Lolohea in reply.

Theo Fages brought the hosts back within four, and two late Levi scores ensured Giants would take the points.

Hull missed the chance to move level with fifth-placed Castleford on 22 points, and the chance to go above Salford into sixth, after city rivals KR lost last night.

Giants edge clear of fourth-placed Catalans in third, with the French club up against Wakefield on Sunday.

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Watson's Claret and Golds had to stay in the contest in the opening 40 in which Hull - coached by ex-Giant Brett Hodgson - were largely dominant.

Jake Connor put Leeds loanee Walker in from a scrum-base move to open the scoring, and Walker and Danny Houghton created an opening for Wynne to add a second.

Having gone close through Luke Yates in that time, and with Hull half-back Will Smith in the sin-bin for pushing an opponent in the face on the back of try celebrations, Giants got themselves on the board with a Lolohea try.

Minutes later Connor rolled a teasing kick for Longstaff to restore the buffer for the Airlie Birds, but that was as good as it got for them as Huddersfield roared back.

Fages scored off a scrum play to nibble away at the deficit, and only solid defence denied Owen Trout and Ash Golding scoring chances.

Levi, a jack-in-the-box all night for Huddersfield, twice nipped in with trademark scores from dummy-half to secure the victory.

Huddersfield coach Ian Watson:

"We just needed to complete our sets. We felt comfortable against them and were dominating for large parts of the game.

"It was just our silly mistakes that let them off and gave them a bit of a start. Once we started completing our sets, they couldn't handle us.

"The resilience to come back into the game showed a real champion mentality, which is really good for us because, if you look back 12 months, we lose that game.

"We've just got to be better at the start to not let teams get away from us."

Hull FC boss Brett Hodgson told BBC Radio Humberside:

"It's disappointing the way we lost at the end, there were contributing factors at the end which didn't help us. I felt we were unfairly disciplined and penalised out of the game.

"We couldn't get off our goal-line, we didn't get chance to get back into it of our own doing. The intent we started with in the start of the second half gave them an extra bit of energy and we didn't have the right amount of energy.

"I think we saw the fatigue from Will being in the bin and having to defend so much and it gasses you, and then you do concede soft tries that they don't have to earn. But they do earn it with the amount of defending we had to do.

"We lost Kane Evans and Jack Brown and were down to 15 players. Jack looks like his shoulder came out and came back in, and Kane's knee locked up."

Huddersfield: Lolohea; Golding, Cudjoe, King, I Senior; Pryce, Fages; Trout, O'Brien, Wilson, Jones, McQueen, Yates.

Interchanges: Hewitt, Greenwood, Ashworth, Levi.

Hull FC: Walker; McIntosh, Connor, Wynne, Simm; Smith, Gale; Taylor, Houghton, Evans, Lane, Longstaff, Fash.

Interchanges: Brown, Laidlaw, Lovodua, Satae.

Sin-bin: Smith (36).

Referee: Marcus Griffiths.

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