Huddersfield Giants 19 Hull FC 12: Whisper it quietly but Ian Watson's side on the charge

The Giants have struggled with the weight of expectation for much of the season after being tipped to challenge for honours on the back of a strong 2022 campaign and an eye-catching recruitment drive.

A wretched run of one win in nine games appeared to signal the end of Huddersfield's season – and they are playing like a team with nothing to lose.

After taking the pressure off his side by pulling the shutters down on any play-off talk, Watson has seen the Giants put together three straight wins to move to within four points of the top six.

The latest victory had to be earned against an in-form Hull FC that had the scent of an eighth win in 11 matches when they opened up a 12-6 lead in the first half.

But they were unable to build on a purple patch that yielded tries for Adam Swift and Brad Fash as their play-off hopes took a sizeable blow.

The outstanding Chris Hill came up with the game-breaking play to put Chris McQueen over for his fourth try in three matches late on after Tui Lolohea had levelled the scores before half-time.

Jermaine McGillvary opened the scoring with the 249th try of his career but later limped off in clear discomfort with a worrying-looking leg injury.

The Giants also saw captain Luke Yates helped off, while Tony Smith was forced into a major reshuffle after losing both centres in Liam Sutcliffe and Cam Scott.

In the end, Huddersfield made a better fist of dealing with the adversity as their turnaround continues.

The Giants made the early running and broke the deadlock in the 12th minute as Hull old boy Jake Connor threatened to steal the show.

The mercurial full-back booted a superb 40/20 to give himself the perfect field position to put McGillvary over in the corner with a nice cut-out pass after catching the visitors short on their left edge.

If Huddersfield thought they had Hull's number on that edge, they were quickly made to think again.

The momentum swung Hull's way after Darnell McIntosh claimed Jake Clifford's lofted restart and they had the Giants scrambling during a period of free-flowing rugby.

Clifford had the look of a man desperate to leave Super League on a high as he pulled the strings for the Black and Whites.

He created the first try after wriggling free to get an offload away near halfway and give Jordan Lane the chance to put Swift over against his future employers.

Huddersfield lost Adam Milner to a HIA and it appeared that heads were spinning across the park as Clifford – playing more as an edge back-rower – continued to punch holes in their right edge.

Ligi Sao was guilty of picking the wrong option with support on each shoulder after Clifford created another chance but the Giants could only ride their luck for so long.

A Clifford offload left Huddersfield in scramble mode again and they were unable to recover as Jake Trueman stepped back inside to give Fash an easy finish under the posts.

When Sutcliffe added a second goal to make it 12-6, Hull appeared to have a stranglehold on the contest.

But the Giants responded like a team that rediscovered lost confidence before the Challenge Cup break.

After benefiting from a Chris Satae knock-on with Hull looking dangerous, Huddersfield created a try out of nothing at the other end.

Olly Russell caught the Black and Whites napping with a neat reserve chip and Lolohea took advantage of indecision from Davy Litten to touch down.

Russell made no mistake from the tee to level the scores at the end of an entertaining opening half an hour.

Milner was given the all-clear to return but Huddersfield suffered a major blow when McGillvary limped off.

If the first half was eminently watchable, the opening 20 minutes of the second period were instantly forgettable.

Both sides traded errors in an increasingly cagey contest that reflected the importance of the two points.

Hull lost Sutcliffe and Scott in quick succession to leave them without a recognised centre, while Huddersfield's cause was not helped by the loss of Yates.

It was going to take a moment of inspiration to settle the game – and it came from an unlikely source.

There appeared to be little on when Hill received the ball on Hull's 20 but his quick hands put McQueen through a hole to score next to the posts.

Russell knocked over the conversion and demonstrated good game management to slot a drop goal to give the Giants a seven-point advantage with seven minutes remaining, a lead they would not relinquish.

Huddersfield Giants: Connor, McGillvary, Naiqama, Bibby, Halsall, Russell, Lolohea, Hill, Milner, Wilson, Cudjoe, McQueen, Yates. Substitutes: Peats, Greenwood, English, Hewitt.

Hull FC: Litten, Swift, Sutcliffe, Scott, McIntosh, Trueman, Clifford, Fash, Houghton, Sao, Lane, Savelio, Cator. Substitutes: Satae, Lovodua, Taylor, Dwyer.

Referee: Aaron Moore.