Do you begin to take Huddersfield Giants as serious contenders for winning the Grand Final?

Are they already there?
If they beat us tomorrow?
If they win the League?

At the moment, i'll be honest, I don't fancy them as serious contenders for Old Trafford in October. Beaten pretty easily when it mattered by Warrington in the Cup (seems like Wire could be their bogey team..), i'm just not buying into it just yet. I mean I wouldn't be surprised if they turn us over tomorrow night, but i'd still fancy us to beat them come playoff time.

A very talented, well drilled squad with one of the best kickers in the league, and Sinfield has showed us with somebody directing you round the park well, you're halfway there.

But Grand Final winners? Not for me

EDITED - This isn't some dig at Huddersfield or anything, I just don't see the Grand Final winners being any team other than Wigan/Wire/Leeds this season, just wondered if anybody agreed etc..

Recent history has shown Huddersfield to be a team that make a great start but fall away and fail every time when it comes to the games that actually decide the trophies. While some teams have one season like that they have had the same thing happen every year recently, showing promise but flopping in the last few regular season rounds and in the playoffs. While Paul Anderson has seemingly got them to maintain the push in the regular season (unlike how they were under Nathan Brown), Saints under Brown are seemingly coming good at the sharp end rather than fading, so was it all down to the coach? As mentioned by the OP Huddersfield were also totally outplayed by Wire in the cup a few weeks ago (not for the first time) and would be likely to have to beat them at some stage to win the GF. Are they capable of doing that? There are also us, Leeds and an improving Saints to navigate as well should they manage to turn over Warrington.

IMO Huddersfield would need to be in the GF having beaten two of either us, Wire, Leeds and Saints to get there and having not needed a second chance to convince me that they were capable of beating whoever they faced in that GF. As things are I expect them to finish top then in the playoffs lose in week 1, win in week 2 (unless they play Saints) and go out in the semi final.

They wont win it. Iv got this horrible feeling saints will surprise everyone in the play offs.

If they beat us, Wire or Leeds in the play offs I'd start taking them seriously, we learned last year what a big regular season gets you if you can't back it up in the play offs

Your not the only one, still think saints will be right up there and a contender to get to the final. I think hudds oils turn us over tomorrow but I still wouldn't be nervous about playing them in the play offs.

No chance Saints will get anywhere near!!

It does beg the question, is there any advantage to us pushing for a higher place, if finishing 4th would pitch us against the team we would most like to play?

You always have that self doubt at the back of your mind about your own club so when people ask 'could Huddersfield beat Wigan in the play offs' I'd say yes. They're a solid side with a good halfback and our play off record isn't crash hot.

Ask me could they beat Leeds, Wire or even Saints and its a cast iron no from me. They have no form for winning big games and where I call them a 'solid side' in positive terms suddenly feels negative. They won't have enough game breakers to beat those teams.

People talk about tomorrow being a test of their credentials but I don't feel it's that big a game. The only games I count as big ones these days are knock out games so I wouldn't read too much in to what happens tomorrow from either sides point of view.

They've got it all to prove.

The only purpose it'll serve if they beat us is to give them more confidence that they can beat us. We don't have a great record against them in recent seasons really. Would have been good to have a full strength team this week and dish out a spanking to send out a message! The timing of the fixture is unfortunate with the final just 2 weeks away.

Personally I think Huddersfield are a different animal this year, and a GF appearance wouldn't surprise me in the slightest.

They can make the final but I can't see them winning it. The winner will come from us, Wire, Leeds and Saints (although I think Saints are average and it'd be a freak result if they won it).

Hudds seem to have wood over Leeds in the past few years. Finishing first would mean they are likely have to beat Leeds to get to the GF. Leeds were mad keen to win at Wembley this year and I'd wager the vast majority of the Leeds squad would have chosen Wembley glory over Old Trafford glory but Hudds beat them convincingly with 12 if I remember.

The only difference I can see is they've been more consistant in league fixtures and that's because Tinker man Brown is busy tinkering away over at Saints now.

When it came to the crunch against Wire they slipped back in to the old Huddersfield mode.

Thought you lot would be getting your excuses in for tomorrow rather than being worried about us!

Saints - you must be joking. Hudds have beaten them twice this season
Leeds Hudds have beaten them 3 times this season
Wigan Hudds have beaten them in the only game so far.

Warrington Tony smith seems to have worked them out.

Hudds v Warrington grand final for mine

I wouldn't read into the results too closely.

I wouldn't read too much into last seasons form and Leeds' two lucky grand final wins from 5th

i think on a given day if our attitude is right we can beat anyone and be genuine contenders for the grand final.
on the other hand, we are just as likely to crash and burn in big games.
i would love to think we could get to old Trafford this year but im not sure we have the mental capacity to come through 2 or 3 big games in succession.

If they beat us tomorrow ill see them as a serious contender for the grand final, beating a Wigan side at the DW in a big game will give them a hell of a lot of confidence for the play offs. If they lose, i can see them crumbling. Its good to have a different team up there but for me our main threat is still Wire.

It's not all about the mental side of things when winning a GF, it's as much or even more about luck. You think about Withers did he or did he not touch it in 99 or Joynt's voluntary tackle in 2002. The ref could easily have give the decision the other way and the winners would have been different. That is nothing to do with mental strength.

This is absolutely spot on. You need bounce of ball as well. Look at the cup semi everything that could go Hulls way did.

I would be very happy playing them home or away in the play offs. They only have a couple of thousand spectators at home, so we can turn an away game into a home one wherever we play them. We can beat Leeds, indeed we probably stand the best chance of beating Leeds of any of the teams likely to fight it out.
I am scratching my head as to how anyone can be seriously concerned by Saints. They only just beat us when we had lots of men missing and the rest going through the motions to stay fit for the semi.
We may lose tomorrow, it depends whether we can keep Wembley out of our minds. If we win at Wembley, not a single one of us will care what happens tomorrow. Especially IL.
Personally, I think it's absurd that we can claim to have won a major prize if we beat FC, having beaten London, Widnes and HKR en route. 3 of those sides may miss the play offs. But that seems to be the perceived wisdom. Having been told last Year's achievement was no achievement ad nauseam, should we care what happens this year? The key to progressing in the play offs is to avoid Wire, as even though they are in clear decline, their first 17 is better than ours. If we lose tomorrow, we should aim for 4th and hope the Giants win the league.

im pretty sure we have some kind of stage fright, until we overcome that then i don't think the luck thing comes into play.
i am all for being proved wrong though!

you didn't manage to make the game in February a home game

Some valid points re the Giants having to prove themselves capable, and most of our fans would agree, but the expected mid season slump hasn't happened and you sense there is a bit more about us this time. Everybody points to the Warrington loss in the CC and this immediately seems to discount us, but in the previous round we beat Leeds, and I'm sure they would have wanted to make progress, but this seems to be forgotten. I'm also curious as to why a Wigan defeat on Friday wouldn't really matter but a Hudds defeat would signal a melt down. Friday will decide nothing, I'm sure it will go down to the last weekend to settle the LLS.
As for GF winners - I wouldn't like to put a name to it I think it's fairly open this time, but Leeds will obviously have the confidence of the last few years victories and think they can do it from anywhere. Hull proved Warrington aren't invincible in knockout in the CC so I should imagine there will be a fair few clubs who think they can do it - why not the Giants?