Orr gives Wigan hope for the future

Huddersfield 22 Wigan 36

A typical assortment of reserves and youngsters were always a little too good for Huddersfield in a match which had a distinct end-of-term feel to it.

"We always knew it was our last game of the season," said Wigan's coach, Ian Millward. "A lot of people thought we had nothing to play for but our attitude was 10 out of 10. This has been a landmark season, even though it hasn't been successful, because it's shown us what we need to do.''

Huddersfield looked the more promising side early on but Wigan took the lead when Danny Tickle's pass sent Stephen Wild away. Although Paul Reilly got back to tackle Sean Gleeson, Dennis Moran went over from dummy-half.

Stuart Jones' short ball sent Paul Smith over for the Giants' reply, but the last five minutes of the half belonged to Wigan.

Tickle's break was responsible for their second try, scored by the latest of their seemingly endless series of debutants, the 18-year-old Chris Ashton.

Immediately before the break, Danny Orr took a neat, short pass from Wayne Godwin and Wigan were comfortably placed.

Huddersfield lifted themselves at the start of the second half with Hefin O'Hare knocking back a kick from Chris Thorman for James Evans to score .

Wigan, and Orr in particular, were galvanised by that hint of a Giants fightback. Kevin Brown took Orr's pass to side-step through and another ball from Orr sent Danny Sculthorpe over. An extraordinary move in which virtually every Wigan player touched the ball ended with Brian Carney, captain for the day, marking his final Wigan match with only his fifth try of the season.

Another player on his way out of his club, Paul White, got one back for Huddersfield, followed by one from Forman, but Ashton's second try and the novelty of Carney's first and last goal for the club rounded it off.

Jon Sharp, the coach of a Huddersfield side which had an even slimmer chance of making the play-offs at the start of the day, said that he was disappointed with their final effort.

"But that can't mask what has been a season of progress for us," he said.

Huddersfield: Reilly; O'Hare, Evans, De Vere, Greenwood; Thorman, Gene; Crabtree, Drew, McDonald, Nero, Smith, Jones. Substitutes used: March, Grayshon, White, Jackson.

Wigan: Dallas; Carney, Brown, Gleeson, Ashton; Orr, Moran; Guisset, Beswick, Tickle, Wild, Tomkins, Hansen. Substitutes used: Godwin, Allen, Sculthorpe, Jewitt.

Referee: K Kirkpatrick (Warrington).