Huddersfield Giants secured a 42-20 victory over Catalans Dragons in Round 22 of the Super League, according to a Sky Sports report. The result extended the Giants' winning run to three matches and coincided with the club's confirmation that it will relocate to Dewsbury from next season. The scoreline is corroborated by a national broadcaster's match report, which lists the fixture as Betfred Super League: Huddersfield Giants 42-20 Catalans Dragons.
Around 9,000 supporters were let into the Accu Stadium free of charge to hear the relocation news at half-time, and the home side had already produced six first-half tries to set up a party atmosphere. Scores from Fenton Rogers, Connor Wrench, Sam Hewitt, Zane Dunford and a brace from Sam Halsall gave Huddersfield a commanding 36-0 lead at the break.
What happened in the match?
Huddersfield raced into the lead in the fourth minute when Sam Halsall, marking his return after nearly four months out with a partial Achilles tear, intercepted the ball and ran the length of the field to score under the posts. Fenton Rogers added his first try of the season eight minutes later, before Halsall touched down in the corner for his second. Wrench claimed the fourth try after 21 minutes by capitalising on a turnover deep inside Huddersfield's own half, and the hosts continued to dominate as Hewitt grounded a Tui Lolohea kick for his first score of the campaign in the 31st minute. Dunford powered over from close range a minute before half-time to complete the rout of the opening 40, sending the Giants in 36-0 ahead.
The second half told a different story. Catalans Dragons, under head coach John Cartwright, responded with greater intensity once the Dewsbury announcement had settled over the ground. Ben Condon crashed over near the posts, and Wrench replied almost immediately by intercepting the ball and running the length of the pitch for his second try of the afternoon and Huddersfield's seventh overall. Catalans were reduced to 12 men when Franck Maria was sent off in the 61st minute for a reckless high tackle on George King, yet the French side found another gear, scoring three unanswered tries through a second effort from Condon, one from Leo Darrelatour, and a further score from Charlie Staines five minutes from time to finish 42-20.
According to the same Sky Sports report, Halsall and Wrench each scored twice in the win, with the Giants' 36-0 half-time advantage confirmed as accurate. Flanagan added seven goals for Huddersfield, while Sexton kicked two conversions for Catalans.
How did the Dewsbury announcement affect the atmosphere?
The news of the move to Dewsbury, delivered to fans at half-time, received a mixed reception inside the Accu Stadium and appeared to take some of the energy out of Huddersfield's performance after the break. Catalans took full advantage of the shift in momentum, finally showing the quality many had expected from them earlier in the game.
Despite the second-half comeback attempt, Huddersfield held on comfortably for the win. The Giants remain bottom of the Super League table but are showing clear signs of progress under Australian head coach Jim Lenihan, who took charge in May. Their immediate priority is avoiding the wooden spoon, with the club keen to preserve its Super League status ahead of the switch to Dewsbury next year.
What did the head coach say?
Jim Lenihan reflected on a result that would have seemed unlikely only weeks earlier.
"If someone had offered me 42-20 before kick-off, I'd certainly have taken it. Three weeks ago people were questioning whether we'd win another game this year and now we've won three in a row, which is nice."
"But we still have a lot to do. The second half shows that and we probably didn't come back out in the second half, but we're really happy with how we're tracking."
"It's a bit of an evolution and we're slowly getting better. Last week we scored early and struggled with that. This week we scored early and were able to get through to half-time."
"Then after half-time, once the game was pretty much put to bed, we struggled to keep in contact at that point. It's more mental than anything else, but I'm so happy for the guys."
How does this fit into Huddersfield's recent form?
The victory follows a marked turnaround for the Giants under Lenihan. The club previously ended a 12-match Super League losing run with a narrow win at York Knights, as detailed in our earlier coverage, and then backed that up with a comeback win over Hull FC, only their fourth league victory of the season, in which Lewis Jagger scored a crucial try, as reported in our report on that match. The win over Catalans now makes it three in a row, a significant improvement for a side that had spent much of the campaign struggling near the foot of the table.
What happens next?
Huddersfield's next Super League assignment is away to Hull KR in Round 23, scheduled for 13 August 2026 at 20:00, according to season results published online. Highlights of the win over Catalans were made available on Saturday, 8 August 2026.
Key Facts
- Huddersfield Giants beat Catalans Dragons 42-20 in Round 22 of the 2026 Super League season.
- The Giants led 36-0 at half-time, with Sam Halsall and Connor Wrench each scoring twice.
- Around 9,000 fans were admitted free to hear confirmation of Huddersfield's move to Dewsbury from next season.
- Catalans' Franck Maria was sent off in the 61st minute for a high tackle on George King.
- Huddersfield next travel to face Hull KR on 13 August 2026 in Round 23.
Huddersfield: Flanagan; Jagger, Gagai, Wrench, Halsall; Lolohea, Clune (c); King, Woolford, Rogers, Hewitt, Dunford, Rushton. Interchanges: Powell, Greenwood, Cozza, Geyer, Rush.
Catalans: Staines; Darrelatour, Cotric, Cellier, Makinson; Sexton, Dodd; Allen, Da Costa, Maria, Rogers-Smith, Lipowicz, Garcia (c). Interchanges: Bousquet, Condon, Leeming, Lis, Tison.
