Hull FC 46 Huddersfield Giants 10: Season of inconsistency is halted on a low for Giants

England international Briscoe’s early brace helped set up a 12-0 interval lead but it was after the break when the Airlie Birds truly ran riot.

Goalkicker Foster, the on-loan wideman from St Helens, crossed twice and finished with 22 points as the likes of Willie Manu and Aaron Heremaia caused chaos.

However, coach Peter Gentle will know his side must step up their performance a few notches still if they are to have any chance of winning their preliminary semi-final at Warrington Wolves on Saturday night.

Before they stormed away with this contest amid Huddersfield’s embarrassing second-half capitulation, they had produced some basic errors which a side of Warrington’s class will gleefully punish.

Huddersfield, meanwhile, are habitual losers at this time of year and their miserable play-off record showed no signs of abating last night.

Admittedly, most did not expect too much from them after a season of wild inconsistency.

They had shown signs of improvement, winning three of their seven games since Paul Anderson took charge following Nathan Brown’s sacking in July, including an excellent destruction of Leeds last week.

But so many of their old failings came back to haunt them again here; poor discipline, shoddy ball control and a lack of any real direction meaning they were never able to get any sort of foothold.

Scott Grix is so clearly a confidence player and last night he seemingly had none after the stand-off delivered one of those performances where just about everything that could go wrong did; if not caught stuttering in possession he was throwing erratic passes either forward or along the ground.

Ordinarily Danny Brough alongside him would bring some stability but his kicking game was unusually off and he spent much of his time debating decisions with referee James Child.

Hull got off the mark first through a sharp finish from Briscoe in the eighth minute.

Moments earlier, Giants winger Luke George thought he had raced 80m for the game’s opener after picking up a wayward pass from Hull half-back Brett 
Seymour but Brett Ferres had got the merest finger tip to it in the tackle.

From the ensuing scrum, Heremaia’s excellent long ball confused the Huddersfield defence and Kirk Yeaman swiftly tipped on for Briscoe to accelerate over.

Foster added the first of his seven goals but Brough’s kick-off eluded Manu to give the visitors an immediate chance to atone.

However, Ferres soon fumbled in the tackle, the first of countless mistakes which would obliterate any chance of a Huddersfield win here.

Conesecutive Luke O’Donnell penalties invited Hull in again in the 13th minute with Manu this time somehow squeezing an unlikely offload out of the tackle to Briscoe.

The winger faced his England colleague Eorl Crabtree in an unfair contest, a quick sidestep against the prop giving him just enough space to stretch over for a quality one-handed finish in the corner, his 21st try of the year.

Foster then thought he had added a third try after Martin Aspinwall had busted up the soft middle of his former club but Jordan Turner’s final pass was marginally forward.

Hull’s kicking game was indifferent until Seymour forced a drop-out from Grix.

Joe Westerman charged over in the next set but frustratingly lost possession over the line and, so, it was not until the stroke of half-time that the hosts extended their advantage through a Foster penalty.

Just 34 seconds into the second period, though, Foster scorched over after an expansive move initiated by Heremaia on his own 
20m line freed Turner who, this time, held his nerve with the final pass.

After yet another handling mistake gifted Hull more possession, another slick passage to the right saw Turner usher Foster over for his second in the 50th minute but, considering they were pegged right on their own line, Huddersfield’s defence showed no urgency whatsoever.

Hull were well-served by Liam Watts, that handful of a prop who has improved swiftly after debuting in July following his switch from Hull KR, as well as front-row colleagues Andy Lynch and Danny Houghton.

It was following Houghton’s 40/20 that the strapping Watts exposed more feeble defence to stretch over for his first try in Hull colours in the 57th minute, Foster again doing the rest.

Heremaia was next in after the Kiwi hooker, filling in so aptly at scrum-half in recent weeks, regathered his own chipped kick which wickedly eluded the unfortunate Grix.

Huddersfield grabbed a couple of consolation tries through Crabtree, who could certainly hold his head high for his usual endeavour, and Grix which will have upset Gentle who has been impressed by his side’s solid defensive efforts of late.

However, Hull’s player of the year Lynch soon restored order with their seventh try of the night before Richard Horne added the last.

It was his 124th try for Hull which puts him in the club’s top 10 all-time scoring list.