'Huddersfield should be empty' - Giants aim to kickstart weekend to remember

When fans of Hull FC and Hull Kingston Rovers descended on Wembley en masse for the 1980 Challenge Cup final, there was famously a homemade sign erected by the side of the road out of the city reading 'Last one out, turn the lights off'.

It would not be a surprise to see something similar appear on the A642 out of Huddersfield ahead of this weekend either as thousands make the trip to London for important matches involving both the town's rugby league and football teams.

On Saturday, Huddersfield Giants face Wigan Warriors in this year's Challenge Cup final at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, followed by Huddersfield Town taking on Nottingham Forest in the Sky Bet Championship play-off final a day later 12 miles across the capital at Wembley for a place in the Premier League next season.

"It's massive and you'd think Huddersfield would be empty come Saturday and Sunday," Giants head coach Ian Watson told Sky Sports.

"It's one of those where this doesn't normally happen, where two teams who share the same stadium in the same town and community get to two big finals.

"I know they're playing to get to the Premier League, but it's a huge game for them and this one is a huge game for us. History shows you how big a competition this is."

It is 69 years since Huddersfield last brought this particular one of the sport's major honours back to the birthplace of rugby league when two tries from Lance Todd Trophy winner Peter Ramsden helped them lift the Challenge Cup for the sixth time in a 15-10 win over St Helens.

But, following league championship glory in 1962, the intervening decades saw a slow decline which included the club's existence being threatened in both the 1980s and 1990s, although since winning promotion back to Super