Giants run rampant to destroy woeful Wakefield

The former Wigan player was a constant thorn in the Wildcats' defence with his attacking raids and deft ball handling leaving John Kear's side mesmerised at times.

The woeful hosts – who were thrashed by Huddersfield 54-6 at Belle Vue last season – gave Brown a helping hand as they leaked 10 tries in a dismal display.

But having built-up a 26-0 interval lead, Brown insisted there was work still to be done, especially given Bradford Bulls' thrilling comeback against Wigan the previous night.

"The hard part of getting off to a flier is carrying it on," he said, after Giants picked up their third Super League win of the season.

"We sat down at half-time and (coach) Nathan (Brown) spoke to us about that; we'd played for 40 minutes before and not gone on and done it for 80 so it was pleasing we managed to go on and do what we did.

"We've been looking at doing that for a while now."

As Wakefield's defence was splintered time after time, Brown's link with Kiwi centre Paul Whatuira proved increasingly effective.

His team-mate has suffered plenty of problems recently after being placed in a secure mental institute following an assault during the off-season but was at his explosive best to heap misery on Wakefield.

"It's great to have him outside me," said Brown, after Whatuira had scored one and had a hand in many of their other classy attacks down the Giants' left.

"He's world class and playing like that you can see why. We all know he is a good guy and it's great to see him doing what he does best.

"Having a little child is bringing out the best in him."

Nathan Brown had always been impressed by his side's start to the campaign defensively as they carried on last year's tag as the meanest in Super League.

But he had been worried about their failure to click on attack and urged his team to execute their plays with more cutting edge.

That was obvious from the off on Saturday, even without crocked Man of Steel Brett Hodgson.

Half-backs Brown and Luke Robinson linked seamlessly to continually set their backs in motion and the Giants, on the back of a commanding forward showing, played with real flair and adventure.

David Fa'alogo's opener was down to sheer strength as he brushed off Daryl Millard from close range following Shaun Lunt's expert 40/20.

Then Whaturia and Robinson interchanged at pace down the Giants' left in the very next set, the former taking a return pass to score, and you could sense they were in the mood for a rout.

Robinson then produced a classic delayed pass to hold up the defence and put Martin Aspinwall through for a third try with desperate Wakefield having failed to touch the ball during the clinical 18-point burst.

Wakefield's misery was perfectly illustrated when prop Richard Moore scrambled hard to deny Hodgson, forcing the winger into touch following another break, only to then squander possession with an ill-conceived off-load moments later

The Giants ruthlessly capitalised, Cudjoe finishing off great approach play by Brown, Whatuira and Hodgson.

After Larne Patrick had busted Wakefield again up the middle, a seven-man move boasting perfect handling further demonstrated the Giants' superiority, Scott Grix finishing off with his first touch after coming on in his first return to his former club.

Wakefield – who lost Ben Jeffries midway through the first half – managed to force three first-half drop-outs as they looked to rally but where their defence had splintered, the Giants' simply proved impenetrable.

Kear had praised his side's defensive resilience in the 22-16 loss at St Helens a week earlier, citing their resolve under heavy periods of pressure as the most pleasing aspect of their performance. But none of that spirit or determination was present on Saturday night as the shape of a team who had won their opening three fixtures disappeared completely.

"Everything we didn't do, they did," he lamented.

"Our performance came out of the blue. Huddersfield were very slick but we were terrible and our energy levels looked down.

"It wasn't good."

In the second half, Lee Gilmour scored his first try following his move from St Helens when he supported another breakaway from Whatuira and the ex-Great Britain second row was denied a second soon after when Damien Blanch – making his first Super League appearance in almost a year after injuries – scrambled back to thwart the next raid.

However, another sweeping handling move caught Wakefield out again when the ball was switched crisply from right to left, Hodgson finishing off in the corner as last season's Challenge Cup finalists delivered a real lesson in how to expose defences.

Fortunately for Wakefield, Cudjoe missed a fourth successive kick but he could scarcely fail when Grix added his second between the posts following another splendid break by Brown and Lunt got their 10th touchdown in the final seconds.

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats: Blantyre; Murphy, Millard, Gleeson, Morton; Jeffries, Brough; Tronc, Leo-Latu, Korkidas, Morrison, Ferguson, Demtriou. Substitutes: Blanch, Moore, Obst, Henderson.

Huddersfield Giants: Cudjoe; Lolesi, Lawrence, Whatuira, Hodgson; Brown, Robinson; Griffin, Lunt, Raleigh, Gilmour, Fa'alogo, Aspinwall. Substitutes: Crabtree, Faiumu, Grix, Patrick.

Referee: Ben Thaler (Wakefield)