Huddersfield Giants 2024 season review
Overview
It was more of the same in 2024 from the Giants, who finished in the exact same position, and only two points worse off than in 2023.
Defensively they were much worse though, conceding over 100 points more than they did the previous year – a stat which no doubt helped lead to head coach Ian Watson’s sacking.
The likeable Watson led the Giants to the Challenge Cup Final in 2022 and a third-placed finish in Super League, but his departure had seemed inevitable since their underwhelming campaign in 2023.
Despite a strong start to 2024 and a Challenge Cup semi-final, ultimately, a run of one win in eight games was enough to see him depart after a 48-0 loss to Warrington in round 16.
That gave interim head coach Luke Robinson 11 games to stake his claim for the full-time role. And despite winning just four of those and suffering some heavy losses, including a 60-10 defeat at Salford and a 0-66 drubbing at home by Warrington, Robinson was appointed on a permanent basis ahead of the new year.
After the past couple of seasons, he’s got his work cut out though.
Highs
Reaching the Challenge Cup semi-final was a notable moment in the Giants’ otherwise disappointing campaign, and they flirted with the top six during the first half of the year.
Their 24-30 win at Leeds in round eight was their fifth victory in a row when you include their two impressive Challenge Cup victories over Hull and Catalans as well. When the Giants clicked, they looked a match for anyone, but a lack of consistency was their undoing.
Lows
There were lots of lows for Huddersfield in 2024, including three nillings and four losses by 40+. The most galling must be the 60-10 loss at Salford and the 0-66 defeat at home to Warrington at the back end of the season, and it looked as though the Giants had thrown in the towel by that point.
Their Challenge Cup exit was similarly disappointing as they were hammered by Warrington, yet again, 46-10.
Ian Watson’s sacking was unfortunate but not unexpected, and despite his departure they never bounced back to look like play-off contenders.
There were injuries to contend with as well of course, as every club faces. Jack Murchie, one of their NRL recruits for 2024, only managed eight appearances in Super League, whilst Adam Swift’s season was over after just 10 rounds. It says a lot for the Giants attack this year that he still finished as their top try scorer though.
Luke Yates’ departure to Warrington in mid-season was a blow as well, and was basically an admittance that their year wasn’t going anywhere.
Reasons to be positive in 2025
With Luke Robinson now the permanent head coach, and with a whole pre-season to work with the squad, there’s every reason to believe the Giants will improve in 2025.
They’ve made a couple of strong signings in Tom Burgess and Liam Sutcliffe as well, while the arrival of Zac Woolford is an interesting one. The 28-year-old has never quite cracked the NRL with less than 40 appearances to his name Down Under, but Matt Parcell was in a similar boat when he arrived in Super League and he’s become one of the competition’s best hookers.
The Giants have also announced plans to build a new stadium, and whilst it’s still some way off, there should definitely be some more news to come on this in the next few months.
My 2024 prediction – 9th
Final 2024 position – 9th
Delighted to say I was spot on with this one and I even tipped them to have a good cup run, which also came to fruition. Huddersfield will be a bit more of an unknown quantity next year, but at this moment in time I’d still be surprised to see them crack the top six.
