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2011 Huddersfield Giants season

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2011 Huddersfield Giants season
Super League XVI Rank4th
Play-off resultPreliminary Semi-final
Challenge CupQuarter-finals
2011 recordWins: 18; draws: 0; losses: 12
Points scoredFor: 707; against: 524
Team information
ChairmanKen Davy
Head coachNathan Brown
Captain
StadiumGalpharm Stadium
Avg. attendance7,147
High attendance10,428
Top scorers
TriesJermaine McGillvary – 18
GoalsDanny Brough – 88
PointsDanny Brough – 213
← 2010 2012 →

The 2011 Huddersfield Giants season was their 148th in the Rugby Football League, and its 13th in Super League. This season saw the Fartowners finish in fourth place and lose both of their playoff matches, which The Guardian and Love Rugby League described as disappointing given their strong start to the season.[1][2] The Claret and Gold were at top spot three times in the year, before a mid-season slump caused them to drop down the table, and finish fourth; the significant achievement was finishing above every other Yorkshire team.

Season review

[edit]

Pre-season

The Giants Started preseason with a 30–18 loss to Batley Bulldogs, then they came back to the Galpharm for Eorl Crabtree's testimonial match against Hull Kingston Rovers, an experimental side beat the Robins 18–12. They then faced their toughest test, against St. Helens, winning against a relatively full-strength team.

February 2011

The First Match of the campaign was against title rivals Warrington Wolves whose signings included Joel Monaghan, and Giants Man of Steel and Captain, Brett Hodgson. The Match was a fitting opening for the Wolves, who were knocked out of the running for a historic double, by a length of the field effort from Leroy Cudjoe in the Play-offs. Huddersfield came out victors by 28–18. Then they travelled to Castleford, who were top of the table, in what was dubbed somewhat prematurely a 'Top of the Table' clash, a wet weather game slowed the Fartowners, who left Wheldon Road losers 12–18. In the first home game of the year, they faced Hull F.C. in front of the Huddersfield Crowd – after an early shock, they ran out 20–10 winners.

March 2011

The Giants started March with a hard trip down to in-form Harlequins who were in the midst of their best start in their history. After another scrappy affair, the Giants finished the game 18–10 winners. They returned to Yorkshire to face rivals Bradford Bulls at the Galpharm Stadium. In a rout, the Bulls were beaten 50–16, with tries from Jermaine McGillvary, Leroy Cudjoe, David Fa'alogo, Scott Grix, new signing Dale Ferguson, Graeme Horne and Larne Patrick and 7 goals from Danny Brough. In their biggest game yet, they faced an injury effected Wigan, however after an impressive performance from Josh Charnley and Sean O'Loughlin, they lost 20–6. After this defeat, they travelled to Craven Park to face Hull Kingston Rovers. After floodlight troubles threatened to harm the match, the visitors played some great Rugby, and won 38–16.

April 2011

The Claret and Gold started April hosting Wakefield Trinity, a spirited performance by Wakefield against a much changed Fartown team saw Wakefield scare them, only leading 6–4 at Half-Time. By the end of the match, they led 34–10. Then they hosted the Warrington Wolves again at the Galpharm, which after a superb performance, they ran out 29–10 winners. They then went to Headingley, searching for their first ever win there in the Super League era. Over 3,000 fans turned out to see a historic victory, a heated affair, with 2 sending offs, a fight, and six Huddersfield tries, the game finished 38–6, and marked a new era in Huddersfield Giants history. During the Easter Period, they started on a Tuesday night at home to Salford City Reds, where despite the visiting side showing some clever and pretty rugby, they ended the game with a 52–22, picking up the 2 points. They then travelled to the South of France to face an excellent Catalans Dragons side. After a Scott Dureau drop goal, the Giants unluckily lost 13–12.

May 2011

The Giants played just two Super League games during May. Returning for a Saturday Night 'Clash of the Titans' with St. Helens, the Giants won 40–18 against the Injury ravaged Saints side. After which they returned to the KC Stadium, they played Hull F.C. on the same day as the 2011 League One Play-off Final, winning 34–20, with tries from Michael Lawrence, Danny Brough, Lee Gilmour and a hat trick from veteran winger David Hodgson.

June 2011

Huddersfield started June at The Shay, where the team would play until urgent pitch work would be completed at their home ground, The Galpharm Stadium, with a game versus the Castleford Tigers. The Tigers and the Giants both wore their predominantly white kit. The mix up was sorted when the Tigers wore a Halifax old shirt. The Giants ran in eight tries in a 40–18 rout in front of a crowd of over 5,000. They then travelled to Wakefield Trinity, where the home team upset the Top-4 Giants in a 13–10 win. At their second 'On the Road' game in Halifax, they beat Catalans 28–20 on Sky Television, the highlight of the match being a Damien Blanch try for the visitors. The Giants ended the month at Wigan in a match labelled 'The Big One' with a huge ticketing push from both teams attracted a 19,169 crowd to the DW Stadium, the Giants were outplayed, and Wigan won easily 46–12, with Hodgson and Kirmond getting the only tries.

July 2011

The Start of July was the end of the Giants time at The Shay, where the played Crusaders, in front of their smallest crowd of the year, 4,892. With 12 points to the Debuting Gregg McNally, the Giants beat the Bottom of the Table Crusaders 40–12. They then went to the Halliwell Jones Stadium to visit Warrington Wolves, who wanted revenge after losing the last 3 against the Giants, after being behind 22–0 at half time, found hard, but fell short. After this they faced what must be the most disappointing result of the year, a 36–0 humiliation by the Bradford Bulls. The Giants returned to the Galpharm Stadium with a homecoming victory, in the last game of July, they beat Hull Kingston Rovers and made 4th spot a little safer again.

August 2011

Pulling towards the 'Business End' of the Season, the Giants faced St. Helens in [Widnes]'s Halton Stadium, Saints temporary home. They outplayed the Giants, who never looked like threatening. In a close fought match, the Giants still lost out 19–6, Foster kicking 3. They then travelled to the Willows, expecting a victory, but in a disappointing turn of events, lost out 24–18. Huddersfield had won just 4 in 10.

September 2011

In the last two games pulling towards the play-offs, the Giants hosted two very different sides, Harlequins had looked good early on, but since the last time the two sides met, they had slumped, and would have been bottom, if not for points deductions to Wakefield Trinity and Crusaders. The Giants however pulled out all the stops, and hammered the enthusiastic, but ultimately unsuccessful Quins side. They then hosted Leeds Rhinos, in a match dubbed 'the Battle of Yorkshire', although Huddersfield had already secured 4th spot, ahead of the Loiners. In a tight affair, Leeds beat the confident Giants side, looking to do a double, by 7 points, 24–31.

Play-offs

In the first week of the play-offs, without Leroy Cudjoe, Shaun Lunt and Joe Wardle, the Giants were hammered by an excellent Warrington Wolves side, although the refereeing of Steve Ganson was called into question, with Nathan Brown, Huddersfield's coach, saying '[Ganson] obviously got the game wrong the other day'.[3] The Giants then hosted the Leeds Rhinos.

Results

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Pre-season

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W Win L Loss

Date Versus H/A Venue Result Score Report
Pre-season results
Batley Bulldogs A Mount Pleasant L 18–30
Hull Kingston Rovers H Galpharm Stadium W 18–12
St. Helens A Halton Stadium W

Super League

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Table

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Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Warrington Wolves (L) 27 22 0 5 1072 401 +671 44 Play-offs
2 Wigan Warriors 27 20 3 4 852 432 +420 43
3 St Helens 27 17 3 7 782 515 +267 37
4 Huddersfield Giants 27 16 0 11 707 524 +183 32
5 Leeds Rhinos (C) 27 15 1 11 757 603 +154 31
6 Catalans Dragons 27 15 1 11 689 626 +63 31
7 Hull Kingston Rovers 27 14 0 13 713 692 +21 28
8 Hull F.C. 27 13 1 13 718 569 +149 27
9 Castleford Tigers 27 12 2 13 664 808 −144 26
10 Bradford Bulls 27 9 2 16 570 826 −256 20
11 Salford City Reds 27 10 0 17 542 809 −267 20
12 Harlequins 27 6 1 20 524 951 −427 13
13 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 27 7 0 20 453 957 −504 10[a]
14 Crusaders 27 6 0 21 527 857 −330 8[b]
Source: rugbyleagueproject.org
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(C) Champions; (L) League Leaders' Shield winners
Notes:
  1. ^ Wakefield deducted 4 points for entering administration.
  2. ^ Crusaders deducted 4 points for entering administration.

Super League results

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W Win D Draw L Loss

Date Round Versus H/A Venue Result Score Attendance Report
Super League results
12 February 1 Warrington Wolves N Millennium Stadium W 28–18 30,891 RLP
19 February 2 Castleford Tigers A Probiz Colosseum L 12–18 5,992 RLP
27 February 3 Hull F.C. H Galpharm Stadium W 20–10 8,822 RLP
4 March 4 Harlequins A The Stoop W 18–10 2,624 RLP
13 March 5 Bradford Bulls H Galpharm Stadium W 50–16 9,466 RLP
18 March 6 Wigan Warriors H Galpharm Stadium L 6–20 8,151 RLP
26 March 7 Hull Kingston Rovers A Craven Park W 38–16 7,502 RLP
3 April 8 Wakefield Trinity H Galpharm Stadium W 34–10 7,267 RLP
8 April 9 Warrington Wolves H Galpharm Stadium W 29–10 7,224 RLP
15 April 10 Leeds Rhinos H Headingley W 38–6 14,768 RLP
22 April 11 Crusaders A Racecourse Ground L 6–32 3,008 RLP
26 April 12 Salford City Reds H Galpharm Stadium W 52–22 6,042 RLP
30 April 13 Catalans Dragons A Stade Gilbert Brutus L 12–13 7,825 RLP
14 May 14 St. Helens H Galpharm Stadium W 40–18 7,843 RLP
29 May 15 Hull F.C. A KC Stadium W 34–20 11,274 RLP
5 June 16 Castleford Tigers H* The Shay W 40–18 5,237 RLP
12 June 17 Wakefield Trinity A Belle Vue L 18–40 5,436 RLP
18 June 18 Catalans Dragons H Galpharm Stadium W 28–20 5,132 RLP
25 June 19 Wigan Warriors A DW Stadium L 12–46 19,169 RLP
3 July 20 Crusaders H Galpharm Stadium W 40–12 4,892 RLP
8 July 21 Warrington Wolves A Halliwell Jones Stadium L 16–28 10,283 RLP
17 July 22 Bradford Bulls A Odsal Stadium L 0–36 14,047 RLP
30 July 23 Hull Kingston Rovers H Galpharm Stadium W 46–26 4,892 RLP
12 August 24 St. Helens A Halton Stadium L 6–19 6,421 RLP
19 August 25 Salford City Reds A The Willows L 18–24 3,458 RLP
4 September 26 Harlequins H Galpharm Stadium W 50–12 5,220 RLP
11 September 27 Leeds Rhinos H Galpharm Stadium L 24–31 10,428 RLP

Play-offs

[edit]

W Win L Loss

Date Round Versus H/A Venue Result Score Attendance Report
Play-off results
16 September Qualifying play-off Warrington Wolves A Halliwell Jones Stadium L 0–47 10,006 RLP
23 September Preliminary Semi-final Leeds Rhinos H Galpharm Stadium L 28–34 7,872 RLP

Challenge Cup

[edit]

W Win L Loss

Date Round Versus H/A Venue Result Score Attendance Report
Challenge Cup results
8 May 4 Batley Bulldogs A Love Rugby League Stadium W 28–18 2,676 RLP
22 May 5 Catalans Dragons H Galpharm Stadium W 30–16 3,098 RLP
24 July Quarter-finals Castleford Tigers A Probiz Colosseum L 18–22 6,336 RLP

Players

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Squad

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No. Player Apps Tries Goals DGs Points
1 Scott Grix 30 11 18 0 80
2 Michael Lawrence 27 9 0 0 36
3 Leroy Cudjoe 30 9 5 0 46
4 Lee Gilmour 28 5 0 0 20
5 David Hodgson 21 15 0 0 60
6 Kevin Brown 28 9 0 0 36
7 Danny Brough 26 9 88 1 213
8 Eorl Crabtree 30 4 0 0 16
9 Luke Robinson 25 6 0 0 24
10 Darrell Griffin 27 4 0 0 16
11 Luke O'Donnell 16 2 0 0 8
12 David Fa'alogo 19 8 0 0 32
13 David Faiumu 27 2 0 0 8
14 Shaun Lunt 18 7 0 0 28
15 Keith Mason 19 0 0 0 0
16 Andy Raleigh 12 0 0 0 0
17 Danny Kirmond 18 2 0 0 8
18 Larne Patrick 28 3 0 0 12
19 Graeme Horne 20 8 0 0 32
20 Jermaine McGillvary 30 18 0 0 72
22 Keal Carlile 2 1 0 0 4
23 Kyle Wood 8 0 0 0 0
24 Adam Walker 1 0 0 0 0
26 Jamie Cording 5 1 0 0 4
27 Jacob Fairbank 2 0 0 0 0
28 Gregg McNally 1 0 6 0 12
29 Joe Wardle 15 5 0 0 20
32 Jon Molloy 3 0 0 0 0
36 Jamie Simpson 9 0 0 0 0
37 Dale Ferguson 19 6 0 0 24

Transfers

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In

Player From Details Date Ref
Matthew Sarsfield Wigan Warriors 3-year contract January 2011
Jamie Simpson South Sydney Rabbitohs 3-year contract January 2011
Dale Ferguson Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 3-year contract February 2011
Greg Eden Castleford Tigers 2-year contract September 2011
Luke George Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 2-year contract September 2011
Tony Tonks Featherstone Rovers 12-month loan October 2011
Aaron Murphy Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 2-year contract October 2011
Tommy Lee Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 1-year contract October 2011

Out

Player To Details Date Ref
David Hodgson Hull Kingston Rovers July 2011
Keal Carlile Released September 2011
Gregg McNally Released September 2011
Andy Raleigh Wakefield Trinity Wildcats October 2011
Danny Kirmond Wakefield Trinity Wildcats October 2011

References

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  1. ^ "Zak Hardaker hat-trick helps Leeds hold off Huddersfield's late charge". The Guardian. 23 September 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  2. ^ "Huddersfield Giants 2012 season preview". Love Rugby League. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  3. ^ "BBC Sport - Rugby League - Huddersfield Giants 28-34 Leeds Rhinos". BBC News. 23 September 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2015.