Huddersfield Giants v Wigan Warriors: Jim Lenihan clarifies 'unconscious bias' claim with perceptions point

Jim Lenihan believes perceptions of officiating are no different.

After claiming last week that officials had developed an unconscious bias against Huddersfield Giants, Lenihan is convinced those frustrations are shared by their fellow strugglers.

"I'm sure that exists," he said. "I've got no doubt everyone in the bottom half of the table thinks like that.

"And I've got no doubt everyone in the top half of the table doesn't think it exists. That's okay because it's a perception of a situation – two people can look at the same situation and have very different opinions on it.

"It can also be coined in a phrase that good teams get good calls, bad sides get bad calls and you always feel the same. It's up to us to become a good team and force that situation to change."

Friday's home clash with the high-flying Wigan Warriors will put Lenihan's theory back in the spotlight.

Lenihan insists the Giants are not looking for preferential treatment, only consistency from officials.

"We're certainly not asking for favours," added Lenihan.

"I reckon even over the last weekend, you watch those games and they're starting to be refereed a little bit differently. The games started to speed up at the back end of the week and there were a lot more penalties for lying in the ruck.

"The referees aren't to blame. I'm certainly not saying they're at fault on any level. It's just the level of consistency.

"As much as players are responsible for consistency, referees have a boss that they're trying to be consistent for. We're all being judged and it's a constant work-on.

"There's never a point where everyone is totally consistent and stays the same. Everyone is working to keep a level of consistency that everyone is happy with."

Huddersfield sit six points adrift at the foot of Super League after a run of 11 straight defeats. Yet one of their two wins this season came in a shock victory at Wigan in March.

Asked whether the Giants could repeat that upset against a Warriors team missing a host of key men, Lenihan replied: "Absolutely. We get to this part of the week every week very confident that we can put ourselves in a position to win a game of football.

"It's a really good opportunity, knowing we're playing really quality opposition in a game that will stretch us and put us under a lot of pressure.

"Wigan are a team that won't go away. They're very fit, very strong and very optimistic.

"They're very confident in the way they play. We've got to go out there and inflict ourselves on the game."

Huddersfield's cause has not been helped by season-ending injuries to Olly Russell, Asher O'Donnell and Tom Burgess, continuing a familiar theme for Super League's basement side.

On the face of it, the Giants face a thankless task in the final third of the campaign. Lenihan, however, sees an opportunity to grow.

"I think it's a really good part of the season for us," he said.

"In many ways, it's a big education on what we're going to do in our pre-season and how we're going to play into next year.

"I still see and maintain that we're making so much change in the way we see ourselves, the way we play and are developing physically. We've got blokes who have dropped five, six, seven kilos in the past six weeks.

"We're training harder, moving faster and getting to where we want to be. Things are moving in a good trajectory and we've just got to start translating that to the football field."