By Nathan Findlay –
Huddersfield Giants face the Catalans Dragons at the John Smith’s Stadium on Thursday the 1st of July. 19:45 Kick-off.
Team News
Facing off against the top of the league Dragons, this is going to be a very tough game for the Huddersfield, one that’s expected to test their mettle to the fullest. It remains to be seen if they can handle the pressure, other Catalans will be on for their seventh straight win.
Huddersfield previously played Hull FC where they did, unfortunately, lose after what was a fairly close game. Though it was disappointing to see the Giants falter after halftime once more.
A good start saw Huddersfield at 10-0 after the first 40 minutes, but Hull really pilled on the pressure after the break and created a lot of chances leading to a final score of 16-10 to the Black and Whites.
Catalans Dragons
This is going to be one of the toughest games Huddersfield will play this season with the Dragons storming the league currently. A total of 9 wins out of 10 games with the last 6 straight place them comfortably at the top of the table with 18 points.
At this point it’s a case of keeping the pressure up and seeing how many more consecutive wins they can rack up.
Catalans previously played Castleford where they won 16-6. Looking over this game I can certainly say that this was not the best game that I have seen Catalans play this year and I think that they were certainly not as strong in this game compared to how we have seen them play previously.
After this game I would be expecting the Dragons to up their ante if they are wanting to keep their top of the table position.
The last time that Huddersfield and Catalans met was in early April this year. Huddersfield did lose this one after a 20-10 defeat.
In the game we saw all the action take place in the first half of the game. The Giants did try and make the push in the second half, but this was no match for the the Dragons defense.
One player to watch out for is James Maloney. This player has shown great ability to score try’s with his feet but to follow them up with his outstanding kicking.
The conversion rate for this player is something that should not go unnoticed, and he is going to be a player to keep an eye of for on the pitch.
Predictions
This is going to be a very tough game for Huddersfield, and we know that with the form that Catalans are currently on.
But this does not write the Giants out of the game completely. The past couple of games for the Dragons have being ever so slightly shaky and there is a good chance for Huddersfield to beat the odds and take them out.
Overall, I do think that this is going to be a tough game for both teams here and I do not think this is going to be a game where one smashes the other.