Huddersfield back on track after Jermaine McGilvary repels Crusaders

Huddersfield Giants marked the confirmation that their Australian coach, Nathan Brown, will stay at the club for 2011 with a crucial win. Brown said in May that he would return home due to personal reasons, but with those now resolved he can concentrate on restarting a stuttering Grand Final bid. This was a solid start, with Luke Robinson buzzing around effectively at scrum‑half and Shaun Lunt catching the eye in the unfamiliar position of second-row. Brown knows improvements need to be made if the Giants are to make progress on last season, when they failed in the play-offs after an outstanding league campaign. "This year we've had periods of being up and down but for the past four weeks we've taken five points from eight so it's not all been bad," Brown said. "All the boys were made aware of the situation yesterday and it's probably brought a bit of stability into the club. Everyone knows where we're going for the next 12 months and the players know what's happening." Brown's house in Sydney burnt down after he had made his decision to return to Australia. He pointed to that and other family issues when asked about his U‑turn. It means his assistant, Paul Anderson, will have to wait for at least another 12 months for his expected promotion but it will allow Brown to complete what was supposed to be a three-year project when he joined the club. Brian Noble's Crusaders were never in front but they did threaten a comeback midway through the second half, after trailing 16-6 at the break. "When we got back to 20-12 I thought we were back in the game," Noble said. "We gave them a leg up just before half-time with some soft scores. But the real tale of the tape was that we didn't kick well." Lunt opened the scoring for the Giants from Robinson's smart pass, though the Huddersfield half-back's next try assist was for the Crusaders, as Jarrod Sammut intercepted a pass shortly after and raced the length of the field to score. Tries by Stephen Wild and the impressive Jermaine McGilvary put the Giants in command and though Weller Hauraki closed the gap to eight points, late breakaways by Kevin Brown and McGilvary sealed Huddersfield's win. Huddersfield Giants B Hodgson; McGilvary, Cudjoe, Lawrence, D Hodgson; Brown, Robinson; Griffin, Drew, Horne, Gilmour, Lunt, Wild. Interchange Crabtree, Faiumu, Patrick, Brough. Crusaders Schifcofske; Dyer, Martin, Mellars, Youngquest; Sammut, Hanbury; Bryant, Withers, Peek, Winterstein, Hauraki, Lupton. Interchange Le, James, Thackray, Trimarchi. Referee James Child (Dewsbury).