Huddersfield Giants not mission impossible but key decision clear

It has taken time and it hasn’t been pretty but finally, Jim Lenihan and Huddersfield Giants are finally proving that there is hope after all.

Two wins on the bounce have given the Giants something to cheer about in the short-term but perhaps more importantly than that, evidence that what they are doing is working.

Lenihan has made no bones about the fact that he has been hard on his playing group, essentially putting an emphasis on making them fitter. There is a notable difference now.

A miraculous, immediate turnaround in fortunes always felt impossible; alas, it was. It has taken time, and lots of it.

They’ve given themselves an outside chance of avoiding the wooden spoon but more importantly, it now looks like a squad capable of making genuine progress up the league this year.

Huddersfield need plenty of new recruits; there’s no denying that. But getting the best out of what they have is important too and the Giants do have plenty of talent already at their disposal.

Headlining that is Harry Rushton, who has been their standout player in their back-to-back wins. He is still only 24, emerging as a natural leader and a good performer too. He is off-contract at the end of next season and should be made a priority for retention.

But Huddersfield have plenty of good, particularly in their pack. Tristan Powell has proven to be a good recruit, Asher O’Donnell has shown promise and Chris Patolo is still only 25.

Throw in George Flanagan, whose talent is obvious, and Sam Halsall, the Giants have a crop of players they can build around long-term. They just need some quality sprinkled on top of that.

Clearly, it is in the halves where they must find answers. With both Tui Lolohea and Adam Clune off-contract, it’s obviously the area they must address first. No side has scored fewer tries than Huddersfield this season and that is largely down to the fact they’ve been without their captain and organiser for the majority of it. Fix that department, and Huddersfield can make some fair improvements.

A new era is underway at the Giants and with a move out of the Accu Stadium incoming, the changes are going to keep on rolling.

There may well be more pain along the way. But Lenihan’s reign so far shows that he hasn’t inherited mission impossible.