Will Pryce starts onslaught for the Giants, going over in the 70th minute to begin their fightback; a sin bin for Joe Bullock proves to be the pivotal moment as important win slips through Warrington's hands
Monday 1 August 2022 15:56, UK
Huddersfield scored three tries in the last 15 minutes to come from behind to beat Warrington 32-22 at the John Smith's Stadium and strengthen their hold on a top-four spot in the Betfred Super League.
The Giants trailed for most of the game but profited from the sin-binning of prop Joe Bullock to score two tries against their 12-man opponents, going in front for the first time in the 70th minute thanks to a solo try from Will Pryce.
Warrington, boosted by a lively debut by Australian full-back Matt Dufty, were on course for their first away win since February when winger Matty Ashton scored his second try to put them 22-14 in front but their inability to hang onto a lead once more cost them dear.
The Wolves, who are still in trouble near the foot of the table, were dealt a blow before kick-off when England half-back George Williams pulled out with a bad migraine.
Coach Daryl Powell was forced to switch Peter Mata'utia into the halves alongside Stefan Ratchford, with Connor Wrench recalled at centre, while Huddersfield had second rower Josh Jones playing as a makeshift centre in the absence of the suspended Leroy Cudjoe.
Dufty, who has been in the country less than a week, made his mark as early as the fifth minute, laying on the pass from which on-loan centre Jake Wardle scored the opening try against his parent club.
Ratchford added the conversion and kicked the first of three penalties to increase the lead to 8-0 before slow-starting Huddersfield began to work their way into the game.
Skipper Luke Yates was held up over the line after a trademark surge and a strong run from substitute Joe Greenwood created the position for Jones to send winger Ashton Golding over for the Giants' first try.
Oliver Russell's conversion rebounded off an upright and Ratchford kept the scoreboard ticking over by punishing Huddersfield's indiscipline to extend his side's lead to 12-4 before hooker Adam O'Brien, making his first appearance for seven weeks, scored an opportunist try from dummy half just before the break.
Russell kicked the conversion but the visitors restored their eight-point cushion five minutes into the second half when the pacy Ashton intercepted full-back Pryce's kick to sprint 60 metres for their second try.
Pryce compounded the error by kicking out on the full for the second time to ensure more work for the Giants' defence.
Huddersfield stayed in the contest, with Jones scoring a third try after Theo Fages' grubber kick bounced around the in-goal area, but Russell was again unable to add the conversion.
The game appeared to swing irreversibly towards the Wolves when Ashton finished off a well-executed move to score his second try on 55 minutes but Ratchford was off target for the first time with the boot to leave the home side within touching distance at 22-14.
The pivotal moment came on the hour when Bullock was shown a yellow card for pulling back Owen Trout as he chased a kick to the line and the Giants scored two tries while their opponents were down to 12 men.
Russell's long, looping pass got winger Innes Senior over at the corner while Pryce, making amends for an otherwise slipshod display, produced a jinking run through the middle and Russell kicked both conversions to make it 26-22.
Trout then clinched the win by charging through a tiring Wolves defence for his side's sixth try and Russell kicked his fourth goal.
Huddersfield Giants coach Ian Watson: "The game was set up for Will to score the winner on the back of the amount of errors he made.
"The message we sent out to him was for him to stop worrying and that he needs to move on. That's the experience that Will will learn from."
"In the last few weeks they've crumbled on the back of a bit of pressure.
"It's always tempting to chase points but I thought Theo (Fages) and Oliver Russell were patient.
"The message we sent out was to stay in the game and trust in what we do as a group. I thought we showed composure and resilience against a team who were playing not to lose, they just kept trying to chip away at the scoreboard.
"We got there in the end."
Warrington Wolves coach Daryl Powell: "It's deja vu.
"It's tough to take. There's a consistent theme but this was a little bit different with the weight of possession against us.
"It's a pretty tough period when you get a bloke binned - they had the ball 11 minutes more than us in the game. I thought we did some really good things at times but we have to defend better."
The tricky tests continue for the Warrington Wolves as they next head to face the Wigan Warriors, live on Sky Sports Action on August 5 with kick off at 8pm. For Huddersfield, another home fixture awaits with Hull FC looking to continue their bounce back, kicking off at 7.45pm.
