Faiumu lifts Giants into third

Huddersfield 30 Wakefield 14

Two tries from David Faiumu helped lift Huddersfield into third place in Super League, although he and his team-mates had to work hard to extract the spoils from an entertaining game.

The Kiwi hooker probably covered less than five metres in total for his double, but the effect is much more far-reaching than that. With eight rounds remaining, the Giants have the prize of a top-four finish in their own hands.

"We're pretty pleased with the way we're going," said their assistant coach, Paul Anderson. "David got a start today and he looked good. He's a threat with his footwork and he's pretty sizeable as well."

Huddersfield's willingness to keep the ball alive from the start enabled them to build the early pressure that brought them two close-range tries in the first 10 minutes. For the opener, Brett Hodgson was stopped just short but the second wave, in the shape of Scott Moore, was on hand to plant the ball over the line. A storming run from Stephen Wild set up the second, with Luke Robinson going close before Faiumu supplied the final thrust.

Wakefield were playing some enterprising rugby themselves, without quite getting the bounce of the ball when they needed it. The most glaring example was when Jason Demetriou went agonisingly close to touching down from Danny Brough's visionary chip over the defence. They got their reward after 29 minutes, however, when some slick handling produced an overlap on the right for Scott Grix.

Huddersfield almost extended their lead before half-time via Paul Jackson, who volleyed Danny Sculthorpe's low pass up into his own hands, only for Lee Mossop's effort to be disallowed for obstruction.

That looked potentially expensive when the Wildcats drew first blood in the second half, Tony Martin capitalising on a spell of possession to spin out of two tackles and touch down. Wakefield then thought they had taken the lead, but Matt Petersen's dive onto Martin's kick was disallowed.

That was the cue for Faiumu. After Demetriou had put his side under pressure by conceding a penalty for holding down Keith Mason, Faiumu spotted his chance, sold a dummy and plunged over.

A lucky rebound from Moore's kick then allowed Ryan Atkins to send David Hodgson over and the game was won. Petersen did get one back for Trinity, but Huddersfield had the last word when Liam Fulton forced down Robinson's kick for a slightly flattering scoreline. "They took every chance they got," said the Wildcats' coach, John Kear. "We had as many chances and didn't take them. We identified their number nine as a danger and he got us a couple of times."

Huddersfield: B Hodgson; Cudjoe, Lolesi, Lawrence, D Hodgson; Fulton, Robinson; Mason, Moore, Griffin, Wild, Crabtree, Faiumu. Substitutes used: Sculthorpe, Lunt, Jackson, Mossop.

Wakefield: Blaymire; Grix, Gleeson, Atkins, Peterson; Martin, Brough; Bibey, Leo-Latu, Korkidas, Snitch, Wilkes, Demetriou. Substitutes used: Obst, Stosic, Ferguson, Moore.

Referee: P Bentham (Warrington).