Huddersfield Giants captain Luke Yates has told his team-mates to remember the feeling of their Challenge Cup final defeat. The Giants lost 16-14 to Wigan Warriors at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, thanks to a try from Liam Marshall with just a few minutes remaining in the game.
It meant the Giants’ Cup run ended in heartbreak, but they still have plenty to play for this season and Yates will be keen for his side to dust themselves down and bounce back in the right manner in the Super League. The West Yorkshire outfit are currently fourth in the table and at this moment in time, they’re well-placed to secure a play-off berth.
“I told them just to take some stock on how horrible this feels,” the Australian said. “I’ve done this in 2020 as well, it’s such a horrible feeling.
“We need to stay together and use it as motivation for the back end of the season and go on and win the Super League. Obviously we’ll take a couple of days and then re-focus.”
He added: “It is what it is. We should have been able to keep the pressure on them to win. It was an unlucky bounce at the end.
“It’s professional sport isn’t it, two good teams going at it. We were probably the better side for the majority of the game but they were good enough to come back and bite us at the end, so fair play to them.”