Cole Geyer has seen something in Huddersfield Giants - and wants to come back for more

Cole Geyer has been one of them.

The Australian arrived from Oldham in May with the Giants already struggling and swiftly established himself as a source of energy and optimism amid the gloom.

Now, as the end of the Super League season nears, Geyer has made no secret of his desire to stay at Huddersfield beyond his loan spell.

A whirlwind first year in England could yet have a successful final chapter in the Championship play-offs.

"It's been pretty crazy," reflected Geyer, who has scored two tries in nine games for the Giants.

"I signed for Oldham and really enjoyed my time there. They're a great bunch of lads and staff. I then got the opportunity to play Super League and I don't think anyone is going to knock that back.

"I've really enjoyed my time at both clubs. Hopefully I finish the season strongly here and then Oldham have a call-back option for the play-offs if they need me. I'd love to go back there to finish this year.

"I'd definitely like to come back to the Giants next year. It's a great club heading in a great direction.

"Next year is next year. I just want to focus on this year for now – but I've enjoyed my time and it's definitely something I'd look forward to."

Geyer’s enthusiasm for the future is striking given the turbulence he has encountered at the Giants.

Huddersfield – who began the season under Luke Robinson before turning to Jim Lenihan – have endured a season of almost unrelenting misery, with Saturday's win at York Knights ending a run of 12 successive defeats and lifting some of the gloom around the club.

Yet Geyer has seen enough during his short spell in West Yorkshire to believe there is something worth staying for.

"It's good to get the spider off the back and get my first win in Super League," he said.

"I got taken off so it was a bit frantic not being able to control anything from the bench. We've put a lot of work in recently at training and deep down I thought we could get the job done no matter what.

"It was probably a bit closer than we would have liked and the heart was racing but I definitely had full confidence in the lads out there that we'd get the job done.

"Hopefully there are many more to come."

Huddersfield were good value for their first win of the Lenihan era but York made them sweat after scoring two late tries.

In the end, the Giants demonstrated a gritty edge rarely seen this season to get over the line.

For Geyer, the significance extended beyond the result itself. After weeks of defeats and difficult Mondays, Huddersfield finally had a victory to carry into the new week rather than another loss to dissect.

More importantly, the Giants remembered how to win.

"It's a bit of a cliche but we'd probably forgotten how to win some of these tougher, closer games," he said.

"You look at Wakey when we lost on the hooter and the Wigan game where we were in it with five minutes to go. We probably just threw stuff out of the backside and didn't come up with the result.

"To get that off the back is really good. There have been some tough Mondays but hopefully we can now show what we've been doing at training over the next couple of weeks."

Geyer has seen signs of progress in the Giants, even if they have been difficult to spot amid the defeats.

That includes his partnership with fellow hooker Zac Woolford.

"I think it's been good," said Geyer.

"Zac is a really good runner of the ball and a really strong defender. When we're both out there, it suits me because he knows the way I play and is always there pushing with me out of dummy-half.

"I think we complement each other when we're both out there. All of our forwards are getting better and better each week.

"The more we build these relationships over the rest of the year, the better we'll get."

The challenge for any struggling team is to back up a positive performance with another one.

While it would be a stretch to suggest that expectations are shifting after only a third victory of the Super League season, belief is building ahead of Thursday's clash with fellow strugglers Hull FC.

A win would take the Giants to within two points of their rivals – and give them another reason to believe.

"It was 12 long weeks to get that win but we've got Hull FC next and hopefully we can get another win there," said Geyer.

"We've got to keep building, get a bit of momentum and enjoy these last few weeks. Obviously it's been a tough year with a lot of change so to end the year on a high would be really good."