Huddersfield Giants emerge as genuine contenders amid Challenge Cup heartache

Watching events unfold at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, it was hard not to feel that Tui Lolohea’s four missed goal kicks might prove costly for Huddersfield Giants. Ian Watson’s men led 14-12 with just three minutes remaining and the scribes in the press box were sharpening their pens.

A first Challenge Cup in 69 years for one of rugby league’s proudest old clubs? It would have been some story. During a weekend where Huddersfield Town were also gunning for glory in the capital, Saturday at Spurs was the Giants’ moment in the sun. A payback to owner Ken Davy for all the money he has invested during well over two decades at the helm.

For Watson and his players, it was a chance to prove themselves as coming force in the game. All they had to do was win, of course.

The Giants looked set to prevail until Harry Smith collected Thomas Leuluai’s superb pass and showed outstanding poise to send a perfectly-weighted grubber kick into the left corner. Liam Marshall arrived at pace to ground the ball and snatch rugby league’s most famous trophy out of Huddersfield’s grasp.

It was a dagger through the heart of Davy, Watson and every Giants player and supporter. It also necessitated a hasty rewrite in the press box.

Listening to Watson during his post-match press conference in Spurs’ plush media suite, it was impossible not to sympathise with him. It was his third major final as a head coach and his third loss. Watson’s Salford Red Devils side were underdogs in the 2019 Super League Grand Final and the 2020 Challenge Cup final, when they lost to St Helens and Leeds Rhinos respectively.

Yet nobody should be writing off Watson as a nearly man. At Salford, his team punched well above their weight and the new chapter he is