Hull FC v Huddersfield Giants: Five takeaways as John Cartwright’s men take ‘almighty step back’ in play-off race while English starlet drops latest ‘spellbinder’
Huddersfied Giants celebrate a try in 2025
Following Huddersfield Giants’ 30-14 win over Hull FC at the MKM Stadium, here are our five key takeaways from the round 20 clash.
The top line
Huddersfield Giants clinched only their fourth win of the campaign over play-off chasing Hull FC.
The visitors have struggled for form this campaign, but seemed to put that behind them early on, with three tries in the first-half to Hull’s sole effort.
Their scoring form continued in the second as well, as they notched two further efforts to seal a solid 16-point win.
Huddersfield now pull four points clear of Salford Red Devils at the bottom of the table, and are closing in on 10th-placed Castleford in the process. But, for Hull, they miss a great chance to jump above Wakefield Trinity into the top six, and sit one point below them in the ladder.
Rivalry emerges
Huddersfield Giants and Hull FC are seemingly becoming big rivals, if the games between them this season are anything to go by. All three games have been filled with needle and venom, with plenty of afters popping up across them, but yet Huddersfield seem to be the ones relishing in that.
Luke Robinson’s side have had it tough this season, but the games against Hull have brought the best out of them. The Magic Weekend game brought Huddersfield’s first win of the season, and this one today was arguably their best performance of the season to date (which we’ll come onto later), but you had the sense this game meant a lot to them.
It felt like a grudge match, and to be fair it’s something both sides could really tap into moving forward.
Two steps forward, one step back
Over the past two weeks, it seemed Hull FC were getting back to their early-season best after wins against Wakefield and Wigan, but they’ve taken an almighty step back with this defeat.
This almost seemed like a flashback to the 2024 Hull. Their attack lacked the fluidity that we’ve seen in recent weeks, their usually dominant pack were incredibly well managed by their Huddersfield counterparts, and to compound things when they did get into striking position they came up with some really sloppy errors.
There were flashes of genuine brilliance from the Black and Whites, which will make the manner of the defeat even more frustrating. Take Lewis Martin’s two second-half scores as the prime example of these moments, be it the Davy Litten flick pass or Martin and Litten’s delicious interplay out wide, but then again, moments just don’t win matches at this level and at this stage in the season.
Hull FC’s play-off charge is by no means over, but with a tough block of fixtures against Salford Red Devils, Leigh Leopards, St Helens and Leeds Rhinos in their future, they could have done with a win today.
Two steps forward, one step back for Hull FC.
Times achanging?
2025 will likely be a season Luke Robinson and the rest of the Giants disregard come the end of the campaign, but this game could easily be the sign of change they needed to give them a little boost.
The Giants could be excused for playing an all-out attacking game, with their season all-but over, but this win was built on doing the simple stuff very well.
Huddersfield trusted their middle unit to smash and bash through the Hull FC pack, with players like Matty English and Fenton Rogers running their blood to water, but when space presented itself, they looked to play into it and hit their danger players in George Flanagan and Taane Milne.
It was nothing flashy, but it was very efficient.
Hull FC did gift them some precious territory, granted, but they took almost every chance presented to them, and that was the difference at the end of the day.
How good is George Flanagan
There are a lot of young players poking their way into senior squads of late, but George Flanagan is arguably the pick of the bunch, and this was the latest spellbinding display from the youngster.
He was simply at the heart of everything good for his side in this win. The fullback just popped up in space almost every time his side needed him to make a difference, and he combined that with some nice playmaking flashes to combine with the rest of his backline too.
Around that, too, he already seems to be an emotional leader within this squad. His fizzing excitement and needle galvanised his squad when they seemed under the pump and it eventually got them back on the front foot and home with the points.
This is an exciting time for English talent, but Flanagan might quietly be the one to keep an eye on.
READ NEXT ON LRL
👉🏻 Rugby League 26 hit with major backlash as players’ union step in
👉🏻 Shock Lewis Dodd transfer details emerge including St Helens complaint over exit
👉🏻 Analysing Castleford Tigers coaching shortlist as final five profiled in-depth
