JUST as he had on nine previous occasions this season, Huddersfield Giants head coach Luke Robinson faced his post-match media duties on Saturday having to reflect on yet another defeat after going down 30-12 at home to Castleford Tigers.
The Betfred Super League table makes grim reading for the Giants, who sit bottom of the table with nine defeats from nine games so far including a 23-10 loss away to financially-stricken Salford Red Devils – not to mention falling at the first hurdle to Wakefield Trinity in the Betfred Challenge Cup.
Former Huddersfield scrum-half Robinson is managing to maintain something of a positive outlook though, helped by him being able to keep things in perspective when compared to those he knows who make a living outside of professional sport.
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“I’ve got a lot of friends who get up on a daily basis and do a really, really tough job,” Robinson, who took over from Ian Watson on an interim basis last July before being appointed to the job full time, said.
“I’ve got my two best mates who run a children’s home and deal with the young kids who have got no mums and dads, I’ve got my other mates who are in jobs where they have to get up and leave their families for four or five days at a time, and don’t see their own kids on a daily basis.
“There is a lot of pressure that goes with this job, I understand that when I took it over, but the pressures they go through are probably a lot more life-threatening than mine.
“It probably doesn’t feel like that when you’re involved in sport and I probably put more pressure on myself than anyone else, but I’ve been in very good environments, I know what works and how to get out of it. We just need to implement it.”
The Giants have not been helped by injuries to influential players during the first three months of the campaign, with the likes of Tui Lolohea, Harry Rushton, George King and off-season signing Liam Sutcliffe all currently sidelined for varying periods.
Robinson has not hid behind injuries as an excuse for his side’s results though.
Instead, he lamented their poor end-of-set plays, particularly when it comes to defending kicks, following the defeat to Castleford along with a lack of ruck control and being slow off the line in defence.
That Huddersfield have made more tackles (3,042) than any other team in Super League so far this season underlines how much they have been on the back foot at times in games.
They have struggled in attack as well those, having the lowest average gain of 5.76 metres per carry from a total of 8,405 metres made – the second-lowest in the competition.
The fact Giants players have only managed a Super League-lowest 21 clean breaks between them with the ball in hand underlines why those numbers are so low.
Only Salford have scored fewer than Huddersfield’s 17 tries and have a worse points difference than the West Yorkshire outfit’s -168 as well, while the Giants’ anaemic average of 11.11 points scored per game is exactly the same as Super League leaders Hull KR’s average points conceded.
The run of nine straight defeats to start the Super League season is threatening to see Huddersfield match London Broncos from last year, who needed 11 attempts to get off the mark.
Games against the two high-flying Hull clubs, play-off contenders St Helens and Leigh Leopards, and reigning champions Wigan Warriors coming up in the next five rounds mean ending that run seems unlikely any time soon, however.
If nothing else, Robinson will want to avoid his side matching the Giants’ worst start to a Super League season from 2001 when first-year head coach Tony Smith oversaw 16 straight losses in a season in which the club were relegated.
The abolition of automatic promotion and relegation means Huddersfield will not face that fate in 2025 on their on-field results alone, although their Grade B IMG rating of 14.48 which saw them ranked 11th will be affected if the poor results continue.
It comes at a time when there is wider uncertainty around the Giants, with them set to move eight miles up the road to Halifax for at least several years while a new home ground away from the cavernous John Smith’s Stadium is sought.
The mounting number of defeats has undoubtedly contributed to the last two home attendances being below the season-average in all competitions of 4,289 as well, but Robinson remained confident Huddersfield can turn around their wretched start sooner rather than later.
“This isn’t the first slump of form I’ve been in,” Robinson said.
“I understand if you stick to your principles and what you know works – I know what works, I know what will work for the group, I know what will work for me – you’ve just got to double down on those key ingredients. It’s generally hard work which gets you out of this.
“They’re a really good group of players in terms of the moral standpoint, what they stand for, how they want to play the game.
“We just need to find where we’re doing it with each other more than anything else.”
