 | |||
| Club information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Huddersfield Giants Rugby League Football Club | ||
| Nickname(s) | The Giants Fartown The Claret and Golds Cowbell Army | ||
| Colours | Claret and Gold | ||
| Founded | 1864; 161 years ago (1864) | ||
| Website | giantsrl.com | ||
| Current details | |||
| Ground |
| ||
| Chairman | Ken Davy | ||
| Coach | Luke Robinson | ||
| Captain | tbc | ||
| Competition | Super League | ||
| 2025 season | 10th | ||
 Current season | |||
| Uniforms | |||
| |||
| Records | |||
| Championships | 7 (1912,1913,1915,1929,1930,1949,1962) | ||
| Challenge Cups | 6 (1913,1915,1920,1933,1945,1953) | ||
| Other top-tier honours | 24 | ||
TheHuddersfield Giants are an English professionalrugby league club fromHuddersfield,West Yorkshire,England. Huddersfield play their home games at theAccu Stadium and compete inSuper League, the top tier ofBritish rugby league.
Huddersfield Giants have won theLeague Championship seven times andChallenge Cup six times.
The club's home colours are claret and thin gold hooped shirt, claret shorts and claret and gold hooped socks. They have or have had rivalries withLeeds Rhinos,Bradford Bulls,Halifax,Oldham,Rochdale Hornets,Wakefield Trinity,Batley Bulldogs andDewsbury Rams.
The earliest record of afootball match being played in the Huddersfield area is in 1848, when a team of men fromHepworth took on a team of men fromHolmfirth near Whinney Bank in Holmfirth. Hepworth won a closely fought game which "exhibited the usual amount of confusions, bloody noses, etc" and took the prize of £5 which had been jointly donated by each side.
There appears to have been no formal structure to sport in theHuddersfield area until the opening of the Apollo Gymnasium on 3 August 1850. At this time the gymnasium was the only venue in the town where young men could take part in physical activities, it offered the opportunity to participate infencing,swimming,bowling,cricket and many other sports.
In 1864 the Apollo Gymnasium was turned into the Gymnasium Theatre. The athletes of the gymnasium responded by forming a more organised athletics association. In an advertisement headed "Huddersfield Athletic Club" they invited "gentlemen desirous of becoming members" to a public meeting at 8 o'clock on the evening of 16 November 1864 at the Queen Hotel. The meeting went ahead, a hundred names were registered and a committee was formed. Within a month a new gymnasium was in service in a basement on Back John William Street. The club's 1864 foundation (a few months before that ofHull F.C.) means that it is the oldest Rugby League club, both in terms of foundation date and continuous history; it celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2014.[1]
On 27 January 1866, twenty members of the Huddersfield Athletic Club agreed to play a football match against twenty of the Huddersfield Rifle Corps at Rifle Field in Trinity Street. Although the result was a scoreless draw, a large crowd was attracted. In light of this, the Huddersfield Athletic Club agreed to start a football section which was to start at the beginning of December 1866. Initially the Huddersfield Athletic Club made no contribution to the support of the football club and each paying member was forced to pay a subscription of 2s/6d (half a crown/12+1⁄2p). As the football club grew, it became a useful recruiting tool for the Huddersfield Athletic Club. In 1869 six matches were played and by 1870 three of the club's players had been selected to representYorkshire. By 1872 there were so many players that a second team was formed.
The growth in popularity of the club and the need for better facilities led to the Huddersfield Athletic Club approaching St John's Cricket Club with a proposal to merge the two clubs. St John's Cricket Club had been formed in 1866 at Hillhouse and had moved toFartown ground. By 1875, when amalgamation talks began, over £800 had been spent on developing the new ground. At a meeting on 27 November 1875, at the Thornhill Arms Inn the two clubs agreed to merge to form the Huddersfield Cricket and Athletics Club. The motion was passed by 55 votes to 37.
Initially the football section stayed at Rifle Field, but alterations made in the summer of 1878 meant that rugby could begin at the start of the 1878–79 season with the visit of Manchester Rangers on 2 November. The new ground would become the club's home for 114 years and would provide the club's famous "Fartown" nickname.
After the 1890–91 season, Huddersfield along with other Yorkshire Senior clubs Batley, Bradford, Brighouse, Dewsbury, Halifax, Huddersfield, Hull, Hunslet, Leeds, Liversedge, Manningham and Wakefield decided that they wanted their own county league starting in 1891 along the lines of a similar competition that had been played in Lancashire. The clubs wanted full control of the league but the Yorkshire Rugby Football Union would not sanction the competition as it meant giving up control of rugby football to the senior clubs.
In 1895 the club were founder members of theNorthern Rugby Football Union, (later theRugby Football League).
The club has seen many ups and downs in its long history, but for the first 60 years of rugby league it was one of the powerhouses of the game, with onlyWigan as rivals in terms of trophies won.
Harold Wagstaff was only fifteen years and one hundred and seventy-five days old when he played his first match for Huddersfield, againstBramley in November 1906. At the time, he was the youngest first-team player the game had seen, he had signed on for a £5 signing-on fee.
Huddersfield beat the touring 1908–09 Kangaroos 5–3. They were impressed enough with stand-offAlbert Rosenfeld to sign him up that evening along with Australian Dual Code InternationalPat Walsh one of the best forwards of the Kangaroos. Rosenfeld played his first game againstBroughton Rangers on 11 September 1909.
The club's golden period came around the time of theFirst World War. The club was able to assemble a team of players from across theBritish Empire who swept all before them. Known as "The Team of All Talents", they were led byHarold Wagstaff and are still regarded as one of the finest football teams ever to have played. In the five years leading up to the First World War they won 13 trophies.
Two members of the team, centreHarold Wagstaff and wingAlbert Rosenfeld were honoured by inclusion in the originalRugby League Hall of Fame. They were later joined by the Cumberland second rowDouglas Clark. Of just seventeen players to be elected to the Hall of Fame, no fewer than three were teammates in that famous Huddersfield side. In total, Huddersfield boast five representatives in the Hall of Fame, more than any other club.
The particular fame of "The Team of All Talents" sprung from their extraordinary three quarter play. In 1911–12, Rosenfeld became the first player to score more than 50 tries in a season – a feat previously thought to be impossible. That season he scored 78. His wing partner,Stan Moorhouse scored 52. In 1912–13, Rosenfeld scored 56, and then in 1913–14 he broke his own record with 80 tries, a record which stands to this day.
On 28 February 1914, the club defeated Swinton Park by a record 119–2 (Rosenfeld contributing 7 tries) in aChallenge Cup tie at Fartown. The record would stand until 26 November 1994 when theHuddersfield club broke their ownWorld Record by defeatingBlackpool Gladiators 142–4 in a Challenge Cup tie at theMcAlpine Stadium – centre Greg Austin scoring 9 tries on his way to 52 tries that season, aworld record for a centre. In the 1914–15 season they became only the second team to win "all four cups" when they lifted the Championship, theChallenge Cup, theYorkshireCounty Cup, and theYorkshire League. Huddersfield's dominance prior to the First World War was such that they went unbeaten in 38 consecutive matches before the suspension of the league in 1915.
Huddersfield did not take part in the 1918–19 season. In the 1919–20 season, the first five games were won for a 43 match unbeaten run over six years which still stands as a record today. The unbeaten run consisted of 28 league matches, 8 Yorkshire Cup-ties, 5 Challenge Cup-ties and 2 League Championship play-offs. In addition, Huddersfield were drawing 8–8 in a Yorkshire Cup-tie that was abandoned because of fog and replayed.
The Yorkshire Cup and Yorkshire League trophies were already won when Huddersfield met Wigan in the Challenge Cup final which resulted in a 21–10 victory.Widnes were defeated in the Championship semi-final andHull F.C. waited atHeadingley as Huddersfield strove for a clean sweep of silverware. Huddersfield were missing five players who were touringAustralasia withGreat Britain and Hull won 3–2.
Albert Rosenfeld's last game for the club was on 2 April 1921, a cup-tie against Leeds.
In the first full season after the war, a new record transfer fee of £1,650 was set whenDewsbury boughtfullbackBill Davies from Huddersfield.[2]
Huddersfield won the League Championship in 1949, beating Warrington 13–12 in the final atMaine Road,Manchester in front of what was at the time a world record crowd of 75,194. This capitalised on a season which also brought home the Yorkshire League title.
The highest attendance at Fartown to watch a Huddersfield game was 32,912 againstWigan on 4 March 1950. More success followed in the 1950 season as Huddersfield retained the Yorkshire League title and reached another Championship final atMaine Road. However, on this occasion Wigan proved too strong, winning 20 points to 12. Huddersfield did, however, win the Yorkshire cup with a 16–3 victory overCastleford at Headingley.
On Saturday 17 November 1951, in an ordinary league game, AustralianLionel Cooper scored a club record ten tries, as Huddersfield defeatedKeighley 48–3 at Fartown.
By the end of the 1950s, Huddersfield had won 3 Yorkshire cup finals, in 1950–51, 1952–53 and 1957–58, and the Challenge Cup final, in 1952–53. Huddersfield beatSt. Helens 15–10 in the 1953 Challenge Cup Final atWembley.
Wakefield Trinity beat Huddersfield 16–10 in the 1960YorkshireCounty Cup Final atHeadingley,Leeds on 29 October 1960.[3]
In the 1961–62 season Huddersfield were beaten by Wakefield Trinity in the Challenge Cup final but then the following week fortunes were reversed and Huddersfield won the Championship play off final atOdsal. This is the last major trophy the club collected.
In 1962, the league was split into East and West of the Pennines; Huddersfield andHull Kingston Rovers met at Headingley, Leeds in the first final of theEastern Division Championship on Saturday 10 November 1962.
Reigning Champions Huddersfield were favourites to lift the Eastern Division title, especially as Rovers were missing five first choice players with injuries. The Robins, however, set the early pace and were 10–0 up after 30 minutes. Despite a rally by Huddersfield, Rovers hung on to win 13–10.
By the 1970s, the club had become a shadow of its former self; the old Fartown ground had fallen into disrepair and the club frequently finished in the lower reaches of the league. Local businessman, John Bailey, took a controlling interest in the stadium, the club and the pavilion. In 1984, in an attempt to revive the club, Huddersfield adopted the name 'Barracudas' and Fartown was renamedArena 84. As the crowds continued to stay away, it became clear that Bailey could not stem the decline.
Huddersfield Rugby League Club was on the point of collapse. A new board of directors took over in 1989 and injected some much needed financial resources into the club. The 'Barracudas' and 'Arena 84' names were dropped for the 1988–89 season.Nigel Stephenson was appointed as coach and Huddersfield were helped by several clubs, in particularFeatherstone Rovers, to put a reasonable squad together. As well as beginning to improve the playing staff, the new owners also carried out a considerable amount of work on the Fartown stadium and by the end of the 1989–90 season significant progress was being made. Average crowds topped 1,000 for the first time in a decade.
Shortly after the 1991–92 season had begun,Alex Murphy took over as coach and Murphy led Huddersfield to become the first-ever champions of the newly formed third division. Promotion to the Second Division had been achieved, and there was pride once again in the famous claret and gold jersey. The expense of this achievement cost the club dearly and a new financial crisis arrived. However, along came a bright new consortium who it was hoped would begin to shape the future of the club once again. Unable to secure funding to upgrade it, the club left Fartown and moved toHuddersfield Town's home ground atLeeds Road in 1992.[4]
In 1993 six teams were invited to take part in an inaugural European Clubs Championship, the six teams consisted of two from the former USSR; Tiraspol and Moscow Magicians, two from France;AS Carcassonne andXIII Catalan,Batley and Huddersfield. Only weeks before departure, the plans collapsed as both Soviet clubs pulled out due to financial difficulties, closely followed byBatley and then Carcassonne who had just five players available due to a players' strike. This left just Huddersfield and XIII Catalan to meet in the "final" inBarcelona. The lead changed hands three times before Huddersfield held on for a 23–22 victory.[4]
Following promotion as champions in 1991–92 Huddersfield finished a creditable 3rd in the 1992–93 second division, behindFeatherstone andOldham but the receiver was called in. In March 1994,Huddersfield went into administration and the receivers sacked Murphy as coach who was eventually replaced byGeorge Fairburn. Under Fairburn's tenure, the club finished 3rd again in the second division in 1994–95 and reached the final of the Second Division premiership competition atOld Trafford losing out to rivals Keighley Cougars and included a run to the quarter final of the challenge cup, beating rivalsHalifax who were riding high in the first division and then hammering Keighley 30–0 at Keighley, a remarkable result considering Keighley had swept all before them and very rarely lost at home, the run was ended at Oldham where over 8,000 saw them go down 23–12 to the top tier side.
In November 1994, Huddersfield set world records for score and winning margin when they beatBlackpool Gladiators 142–4,[5] althoughBarrow Raiders equalled the winning margin a day later by beatingNottingham City 138–0.[6] These records stood for almost 24 years untilYork City Knights beatWest Wales Raiders by 144–0 in April 2018.
In August 1992, following a 36–12 win over Ryedale York in a Yorkshire cup tie, although no one knew it at the time, it was to be the final ever game at Fartown, watched by 1,619 people, the next week, Huddersfield would begin their 2 year stint at the home ofHuddersfield Town, however, plans had already been put in place for both the town's professional clubs to groundshare. After the move from Fartown and the 2 seasons at Leeds Road, Huddersfield RLFC took a share in the new McAlpine Stadium (now known asJohn Smith's Stadium), Huddersfield RLFC's final game at Leeds Road sawDewsbury inflict a 28–12 defeat on the Fartowners in a second division game on Thursday 21 April 1994. The new facility opened in August 1994, originally with just 2 stands completed and Huddersfield's first game at the new ground sawBarrow thumped 50–12 in front of a crowd of 4,300.[7] Although the reserves and junior teams continued to play at the ground, it was to be the final professional game played at the famous old ground.
In 1996, the first tier of British rugby league clubs played the inauguralSuper League season and changed from a winter to a summer season.[8] As the sport in Britain entered a new era it would be two years before Huddersfield rose again to the top level of the game.Ken Davy took over as chairman of Huddersfield and "Giants" was added to the team name.
Steve Ferres took over as coach.Garry Schofield joined Huddersfield for a six-figure sum. Ken Davy's first trophy came in 1997 at Old Trafford, where Huddersfield beat Hull 18–0 in the Divisional Championship at Old Trafford. In 1998, due to the collapse ofParis Saint-Germain the club was promoted to Super League despite only finishing second in the second division. After helping the Giants into Super League, Schofield took over the coaching reins replacingSteve Ferres with Huddersfield saying that they needed a full-time coaching staff.[9] Huddersfield struggled to adapt to a return to top tier for the first time in 2 decades, struggles continued, the team struggled to compete, winning only a handful of games.Garry Schofield was removed as Huddersfield Giants' coach after 13 games, having picked up two wins. Schofield was replaced by his assistantPhil Veivers as caretaker coach. Schofield later successfully sued the club for unfair dismissal. It took Huddersfield's next three coaches more than 13 games to register two wins, with the club so far off the pace in their early Super League years.
Mal Reilly then took over with Veivers back as assistant coach. Huddersfield finished bottom of Super League and Reilly was sacked at the end of the season.[10] In late 1999, the club merged withSheffield Eagles almost purely for financial reasons. Sheffield coachJohn Kear took over as head coach of the merged side. They were officially known as the Huddersfield-Sheffield Giants, but more popularly as 'Shuddersfield'. The Association of Premiership Clubs blocked proposals for a separate Huddersfield team in theNorthern Ford Premiership.[11] They played two home games in Sheffield atBramall Lane with the others in Huddersfield, the away strip was in the Sheffield Eagles colours. In the 2000 season Huddersfield-Sheffield won only four games, three of them against rivalsWakefield Trinity Wildcats. This arrangement lasted only a season before the Huddersfield name was reverted to, due to rejection from both sets of fans. In the four seasons between 1998 and 2001, they lost 81 times in 99 matches, avoiding relegation for a variety of reasons.
John Kear was sacked as coach and Veivers had a second spell as interim coach.
AustralianTony Smith was appointed as coach for the 2001 season after a rigorous process. This did not seem to have any effect as the club lost the first 14 matches of the season, culminating in a 78-point embarrassment byBradford. This low point became a pivotal day for the club, however. The club won 6 and drew one of the remaining 14 games, only finishing bottom of the table after Wakefield Trinity's appeal against a 4-point salary cap deduction was successful.Widnes won the NFP competition that year and the club was seen to be fit to play in Super League. Huddersfield were finally relegated, ironically, after their best season in Super League to date.
In 2002 Huddersfield remained a full-time professional team despite playing in theNorthern Ford Premiership. The club went unbeaten for the entire league season, drawing only one match and winning a record equalling 29 games. Along the way the team accumulated 1,156 points to equal the record for points in a league season achieved in 8 more games byLeigh in 1986. The team won theBuddies Cup, as it was then known, and also the NFP Grand Final against Leigh in October 2002, which secured promotion back to the Super League for the 2003 season.
In 2003 under Smith, Huddersfield Giants finally established themselves as a Super League club, earning notable wins over Leeds (first time since 1965 ending a remarkable streak of 30 defeats), Wigan and St Helens and finishing 10th, aboveWakefield Trinity andHalifax. After guiding Huddersfield back to Super League, Smith and assistant coachBrian McDermott moved onto Headingley to take control ofLeeds. St Helens assistant coach and former Hull forwardJon Sharp was appointed head coach for 2004 and the team improved again, finishing 7th in the league and making their first appearance in the Challenge Cup semi-finals since 1971.
The beginning of the2005 Super League season saw the club make its highest-profile signing in fifty years when Australian centreMichael De Vere signed fromBrisbane Broncos, becoming the club's first Australian international player sincePat Devery in the 1950s.
For the kick off of the 2006 season the club unveiled a host of new signings to strengthen the squad, including the iconic New Zealand international scrum-halfRobbie Paul. After a convincing victory overSalford in the quarter final, the Giants facedLeeds (ironically coached by Tony Smith) in the Challenge Cup semi-final atOdsal, Bradford. Against all the odds, massive underdogs Huddersfield pulled out what is regarded as possibly their best performance of modern times, Stuart Donlan andChris Nero with 2 tries apiece andMichael De Vere with a try and five goals steering them to a 30–12 victory. Huddersfield lost the2006 Challenge Cup Final to eventual Super League championsSt. Helens 42–12, but the performance heralded the best Huddersfield achievement since 1970.
The start of the 2007 season saw Huddersfield make some exciting signings, includingWests Tigers trio,Jamahl Lolesi,John Skandalis andShane Elford, as well asRyan Hudson. The season started horrendously for Huddersfield in terms of results. After seven consecutive losses they found themselves marooned at the foot of the table, 5 points adrift, but ironically with the second best defence in the league. Large sections of the fans began to question the coach's ability and as a result crowds began to dwindle and morale was beginning to suffer.
By the end of May, the picture was totally different. Huddersfield had aChallenge Cup quarter-final to look forward to and had been on their longest ever winning streak since joining the Super League, nine games including two wins in the Challenge Cup including a 36–12 victory overBradford in front of theSky Television cameras on 18 May, Huddersfield's first victory over Bradford since 1972 and ending a run of 20 consecutive defeats in the Super League era.[12] In addition, John Sharp was named consecutively as Coach of the Month for April[13] and May.[14]
Huddersfield's winning run came to an unexpected end in a shock 14–12 defeat bySalford atthe Willows. They had been overwhelming favourites with fans and bookies. Following the 2006 Challenge Cup Final appearance, Giants continued their progress by beating Wakefield Trinity for the 9th consecutive occasion to qualify for the play-offs for the first time and a match againstHull F.C. at theKC Stadium, which was lost 22–16.
The opening 2 matches in 2008 were lost, to Leeds and to Bradford. However the 3rd match saw Sharp's team beat Castleford 64–12. After a 48–0 loss toCatalans Dragons and a run of disappointing results, Sharp's contract was terminated by Huddersfield. Following Sharp's departure from the club in 2008,Kieron Purtill had a brief spell as caretaker coach alongside Paul Anderson.
Club chairman Ken Davy brought in a new head coach,Nathan Brown, and a new set of new players for the 2009 season. The season would prove to be the best the club had had for many years, new signingBrett Hodgson went on to win theSuper League Man of Steel award and Huddersfield also picked up awards forClub of the Year andCoach of the Year for Brown. The Giants finished 3rd in the league and managed to reach the final of theChallenge Cup and marked the claret and gold's first appearance atWembley since 1962, however, they lost, somewhat controversially, 25–16 to league rivalsWarrington, the team responded to their cup defeat by finishing the season in 3rd place but lost in the play-offs twice. Firstly toSt. Helens away from home and then at home toCatalans Dragons but Huddersfield Giants were now a force in English Rugby League again.
Another decent season in 2010 saw the Giants finish the regular season in 5th, winning their last 5 games, but yet again, the play offs proved a tough nut to crack, following wins overCrusaders and a memorable win at Warrington, they succumbed to St Helens, playing their last ever game at Knowsley Road just 1 game away from the grand final. 2011 saw a 4th place finish, and included Huddersfield's first win at Leeds since 1960 when aDanny Brough inspired Giants routed the Rhinos 38–4 but the Rhinos would get revenge, ending the Giants' season in the play offs, there was another cup quarter final appearance but the Giants lost to Castleford.
After another promising recruitment drive from Huddersfield, they were yet again tipped to make big strides in theSuper League in 2012. This season really proved as a roller-coaster ride for the "Fartown Faithful" who saw their team go from leading theSuper League up to the halfway point but then tailing off to finish a disappointing 7th and yet again failing to make an impact on the play-offs, being comfortbaly beaten by Hull, However, another cup run gave the fans hope but they came up against a red-hot Warrington side in the semi final who beat them 33–6. During the season and during the poor dip in formKen Davy decided it was time for change and terminated the contracts of coachNathan Brown and captainKevin Brown.Paul Anderson was given the task of finishing the season as best as possible, it was a sad end to Both Brown's Huddersfield careers.
2013 was seen as somewhat of a transition season, with Anderson able to mould his own team after taking over midway through a tumultuous period the previous year, however, Anderson's charges got off to a flyer, recording their first win atSt Helens since 1978 with a 40–4 drubbing, that form kept up and Huddersfield found themselves in the top 2 for most of the season, a 30–12 hammering of Wigan, signalled the end of Wigan's challenge and Huddersfield won theLeague Leader's Shield, the first time they have finished top of the league in 81 years by hammering Rivals Wakefield 40–0. 5 of the team were selected for theSuper League Dream Team, more than any other club,[15] however, once again the play offs proved too much for the Giants, following a weakened team finishing the regular season with a big defeat at Bradford, Wigan beat Huddersfield in the first stage of the play off, meaning the Giants missed the chance to finally book a place atOld Trafford for the grand final, they were given a second chance however, and after seeing off Hull with a sublime performance to win 76–18, they again came unstuck at the hands of theWarrington Wolves and their season ended in bitter disappointment again.
In 2014, the club celebrated the 100th anniversary of the "Team of all Talents" who wonAll Four Cups in 1914, by playing in heritage jerseys to commemorate the feat,[16] another 3rd place regular season finish saw another defeat in the play offs, this time, at the hands ofCatalans Dragons at home, following a 57–4 hammering at Wigan in the first round.2015 saw another push, but this time a 4th place finish, and after finishing 3rd in the 'Super 8's' earned another crack at Old Trafford, but again, the club failed to take the next step, beaten 32–8 at Wigan.
During the 2016 season, after a run of bad form, the Giants won only 1 out of their first 10 games, and lying at the bottom of the table, Anderson was dismissed as head coach, withAndy Kelly taking charge on an interim basis for a few games. It was later announced that the club had agreed terms with AustralianRick Stone to be the replacement head coach.[17] Stone could not halt the slide and the club finished bottom of the regular season table for the first time since 2001, following the introduction of the 'Super 8's' the season before, the Giants narrowly avoided the relegation play off game by beating Hull KR 23–22 in their final game of the season.
2017 saw an overall improvement for the Giants as they finished 8th at the end of the regular season. A poor start to the season, not helped by injuries, culminated with the club being dumped out of the challenge cup at the first attempt by championship sideSwinton, following the death of Jennifer Davy, long time supporter and wife of owner and chairman Ken, the team saw a more successful finish after the mid-season signings ofJordan Turner andJordan Rankin, the week after the Swinton defeat, and with the club still in mourning for Mrs Davy, they went to Leeds with a depleted side and beat the Rhinos 31–12 in a highly emotional night for everyone concerned with the club. Following theSuper8s, they remained in 8th. It was announced in September that Giants' propSebastine Ikahihifo had achieved a place in theSuper League Dream Team after a highly impressive performance that season.[18]
In December 2017, it was announced that Huddersfield would be fielding an under 19s girls side for the 2018 season,[19] with the overall aim of producing a competitive Women's Super League team in 2019. Trials were held in January 2018. Huddersfeild Giants women team have played in the Women's super league since 2021, in the 2022 season they finished bottom of the league, but avoided relegation.
Only 3 years after forming,Huddersfield Giants Women won the Super League shield final in October 2021 by beatingFeatherstone Rovers 24–22 atHeadingley[20] and reached theChallenge Cup quarter final in 2022 but lost to reigning championsSt Helens
Following a disappointing start to the 2018 season in which Huddersfield only won two of their opening seven games, head coachRick Stone was sacked.[21] former player, captain and academy coachChris Thorman was announced as head coach on an interim basis to lead the team over the Easter period, Thorman could not stop the rot though, losing five and drawing one of his six games in charge. On 29 April 2018, formerCanberra Raiders andSt. George Illawarra Dragons playerSimon Woolford was announced as the Giants new head coach, Woolford turned things around somewhat, winning 12 of his first 14 games as head coach, there was also a cup quarter final defeat at the hands of the Catalans Dragons but Huddersfield lost their last five games of the 'Super 8's' as Woolford's honeymoon period ended.Woolford's first full season in 2019 was a difficult one, a bad start saw them languishing bottom before a brief pick up saw them up to 8th, but they could not sustain it and eventually finished 10th out of 12 teams. 2020 saw a good start, winning four of the first five games and sitting 2nd on the ladder, a cup defeat at the hands ofToronto Wolfpack in March was disappointing but it proved to be the last game before the Covid pandemic struck, when the season resumed in August, with no crowds and at neutral grounds, the Giants could not replicate their early season form and they slipped down to 8th, despite being popular with the fans, Woolford left the Giants in September 2020 after being unable to agree a new contract,Luke Robinson took over as interim head coach until the end of season.
In 2020, the club announced that it had appointedIan Watson as head coach fromSalford starting in the2021 Super League season. Watson was seen as the sports' best British coach after taking unfaniced Salford to a grand final and a challenge cup final, losing them both, but his Salford sides were seen as strong, fit, entertaining and hard to beat, his stock grown as Salford, like Huddersfield, had smaller crowds and smaller financial pull as other clubs, Watson was brought in to completely overhaul the playing and conditioning side of the club. The club had a disappointing year in the2021 season finishing seventh on the table and missing the play off series but there did appear to be a change in attitude of the playing squad, Watson disposed of high profile, high earning players who were not prepared to do things his way and follow his processes.
2022 became Huddersfield's best season in a decade with Watson repeating his success withSalford when he steered Huddersfield to the Challenge cup final in May 2022, a comprehensive 25–4 semi final win over favouritesHull Kingston Rovers atElland Road secured a final place againstWigan Warriors atTottenham Hotspur Stadium.On 28 May 2022, Huddersfield played in the2022 Challenge Cup Final againstWigan. Huddersfield led Wigan for nearly the entire match until Wigan scored a try with two minutes remaining to win the game 16–14 and deny Huddersfield their first major trophy win in 60 years.[22]
Huddersfield would finish the 2022 Super League season in third place on the table. In the elimination play off, Huddersfield suffered a shock 28–0 loss againstSalford which ended their season.[23] but hopes were high that the Watson effect was finally taking over.Hopes for the2023 Season were high following a decent 2022 but the team struggled to replicate their form and their playing style from 2022, following consecutive nillings, Huddersfield were dumped out of the cup at the first attempt by Watson's old club, Salford, 4 heavy defeats followed putting pressure on Watson, who was required to get positive results and who the club had high hopes for, instead the Giants found themselves in 10th place and with their season petering out disappointingly, unrest about Watson's methods were starting to grow. Huddersfield had a difficult campaign finishing ninth on the table and missing the playoffs.[24]
In the 2024 Super League season, Huddersfield had a decent start, winning seven of their first ten games but the season would soon mirror the previous year, Watson was now under serious pressure, with his methods, performance and results scrutinised, following a run of one win in nine games, including a humiliating 46–10 pasting by Warrington in a cup semi final and with crowds dwindling rapidly, Watson was relieved of his duties following another (0–48) defeat at Warrington. Luke Robinson was once again given the interim head coach role but the damage was done with the club once again finishing 9th on the table.[25]
It was announced in September 2024 thatLuke Robinson had been appointed head coach on a three-year deal.[26]Huddersfield started the 2025 Super League season poorly as they lost their opening nine games. In round 10, the club managed to earn their first victory over the season, defeating Hull F.C. 12–10 atMagic Weekend.[27]Huddersfield would eventually finish the 2025 Super League season in 10th place on the table.[28]
Despite not being one of the bigger or successful clubs in Super League, the Giants have a very good academy system, backed by the Supporters Association, who provide volunteers to run and promote the games and raise vital funds, in 2018, the academy team, under head of youth Andy Kelly and head coach Luke Robinson, and nicknamed "Baby Giants" by the supporters, made it to the top 4 grand final play off semi final for the first time. They were joined by Wigan, St Helens and Leeds, however they lost 50–0 to Wigan.[21] Some of that team have now made the step up to first grade level and as of 2022Jake Wardle,Oliver Russell,Innes Senior,Louis Senior,Sam Hewitt,Jon Luke Kirby,Matty English,Oliver Wilson,Ronan Michael,Dom Young have all made the step up to first grade rugby. Other graduates from the Giants academy in the recent past include Huddersfield legendsLeroy Cudjoe,Michael Lawrence andJermaine McGillvary, also,Kruise Leeming,Jake Connor,Darnell McIntoshSam Wood . As of 2022 there are currently 18 members of the first team squad who have graduated through Huddersfield's own youth system.
TheFartown Ground was originally a cricket ground before being occupied by Huddersfield rugby club in 1878. It hosted two Challenge Cup finals in 1908 and 1910 and hosted one football match. During the 1980s, the stadium fell into disrepair as Huddersfield struggled to attract crowds. Huddersfield left Fartown in 1992, but still used it as a training ground until 2004 and it still hosts amateur games.
From 1992, Huddersfield entered a ground shared withHuddersfield Town football club atLeeds Road.
In 1994, both Huddersfield Giants and Huddersfield Town moved to the purpose builtKirklees Stadium. The stadium has hosted Challenge Cup semi finals on multiple occasions. The venue has a capacity of 24,500 with the Giants attendance record being 15,629 set on 10 February 2008 for match against rivalsLeeds.[29]
Following the 2025 season, Huddersfield Giants will move toHalifax to play inThe Shay. The club will ground share with the town's rugby league and football clubs while construction of their own smaller stadium occurs, having opted to move out of the Kirklees Stadium due to inability to fill the ground.[30]
The club's Academy, scholarship and Reserves side currently use the facilities at the Laund Hill complex which is home toHuddersfield YMCA Rugby Union club.
Despite not having the largest fanbase in super league they have a dedicated and loyal fanbase and a consistent following of around 200–300 dedicated away fans and average 4,000+ at a majority of the home games, the fans have been nicknamed "the Cowbell Army" due to the presence ofCowbells amongst the crowd.[31][32]There is also a vibrant contingent of fans known as 'Block 7' at home games who sing, chant and creates a visual support for the team, this idea was developed in mid 2022.
The Huddersfield Giants Supporters Association (HGSA) are a voluntary group of supporters which aims to raise funds for the academy and scholarship teams, they hosts regular guest speakers evenings, fundraising events and also collect donations for a local food bank charity.[33] They also help organise and promote the club's reserves, under 18's Academy and Under 16's Scholarship games and raise valuable funds towards junior development,[34][35] as well as liaising with the club on behalf of the supporters.[36]
In 2019 the group were nominated for an award in the prestigious Huddersfield Community Awards evening for their work in junior and community development.[35]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(August 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Year | Kit Manufacturer | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Stag | Friends Provident |
| 2001–2002 | Logitog | |
| 2003 | Outwear | Longly Park Kia |
| 2004 | Microworld Computers | |
| 2005–2007 | University of Huddersfield | |
| 2008–2010 | KooGa | |
| 2011 | Carboodle | |
| 2012 | Q-Connect | |
| 2013–2016 | Bond It | |
| 2017–2019 | O'Neills | |
| 2020– | PlayerLayer/Oxen | Venari |
| First team squad | Coaching staff | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
| Head coach Assistant coach
Updated: | ||||||
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(October 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Player | From | Contract | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
 Niall Evalds |  Hull KR | 2 years | 12 August 2025 |
 Mathieu Cozza |  Wakefield Trinity | 1 year | 8 October 2025 |
 Asher O'Donnell |  Brisbane Tigers | 2 years | 9 October 2025 |
| Chris Patolo |  Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 9 October 2025 | |
| Olly Russell | Wakefield Trinity | 1 year | 18 November 2025 |
| Player | To | Contract | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
 Aidan McGowan | 17 September 2025 | ||
| Jack Bibby |  Widnes Vikings | 2 years | 21 October 2025 |
| Jake Bibby |  Oldham | 29 October 2025 | |
| Oliver Wilson |  Wigan Warriors | 4 years | 10 November 2025 |
| Elliot Wallis |  London Broncos | 1 year | 13 November 2025 |
 Ashton Golding | 16 November 2025 |
| Player | Date |
|---|---|
| Leroy Cudjoe | 10 September 2025 |
Seven Huddersfield rugby league players have been inducted into theRugby League Hall of Fame:[citation needed]
In 2006, Rosenfeld became only the second rugby league player to be inducted into theInternational Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(September 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(September 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
