Cunningham wary of Wardle and Brough

Giants full-back Scott Grix fumbled two high kicks to put his side under pressure and referee Richard Silverwood awarded seven successive penalties against the visitors as Saints gained the momentum towards the end of the first half. A lot of things can come out of a defeat, though, and you can learn more from those experiences than when you win.

With their wins over Hull and Warrington in the last two weeks Castleford have also put some distance between themselves and the three clubs below them, but head coach Powell said it was the other direction they were looking in.

“There were a few home truths as I really expected the players to rise to the occasion on Friday and have a crack”.

“Sometimes a loss can give you that kick up the backside that can spur you on for the rest of the year and I’m really hopeful that’s what we’ve had”. Hull had a go in the second to see how we would respond and we didn’t.

“When they cross the line, my job’s more or less done and it was that lack of will that surprised me”. We had a real tough day at training on Monday and we will see what happens.

That lead would be extended shortly after the restart when Joe Wardle crashed over, before the Saints fought thanks to tries from Tommy Makinson on his return to the side and then Travis Burns which levelled the score at 20-20, before Luke Walsh nailed a penalty to make it 22-20.

“But he knows. He’s been there in the glory years and good times, and understands what it takes to be successful and what is demanded of players at Saints. That is the motivation”.

The Giants, who lost both regular season games between the two sides, would leapfrog Saints into third place with victory at Langtree Park.

Keiron Cunningham’s men have now lost all three Super 8s matches since their Challenge Cup semi-final defeat by Leeds and urgently need a dramatic upturn in form if they are to have any hope of retaining their crown. “It is always a tussle with them that goes down to the finest of margins”.

“If we want to stay in the Top 4 then we’ve got to start picking up points”.

The prop Kyle Amor barged his way over amidst some timid defending from the visitors on 12 minutes, but that was as good as it got for the Super League champions for the next 25 minutes, as Huddersfield wrestled back control of the game to surge into a half-time lead.