York Knights 22 Huddersfield Giants 24: Visitors prevail but grading system faces biggest test yet
The grading system has never faced a test like this.
For the first time since its introduction, there is a genuine possibility that the team finishing bottom of Super League will not be the one to go down.
Huddersfield Giants are rock bottom. London Broncos are knocking down the door for promotion. And York Knights are among the clubs caught in the middle.
Having finished 14th in the rankings last year, York remain vulnerable. They could finish above Huddersfield by a distance and still be the ones forced to make way if London do enough to return to the top flight.
The most unsettling part is that nobody quite knows where they stand.
Clubs are aware of their own scores but will not learn how they compare with their rivals until the season finishes. Right now, the league table offers no guarantee of safety.
Saturday's clash was another glimpse of the uncomfortable question Super League may soon have to answer: what happens when sporting merit and grading no longer align?
Huddersfield could yet avoid that awkward scenario after ending their long wait for a win at the LNER Community Stadium.
The Giants had not tasted success since defeating York on home soil in early April – a run of defeats that spanned 12 matches, including the first eight games of Jim Lenihan's reign.
They remain four points adrift at the foot of the table with a vastly inferior for and against but Thursday's clash with second-bottom Hull FC adds another layer of intrigue to the situation.
For now, Huddersfield can savour a victory that had been a long time coming and offered evidence of the gritty qualities Lenihan set about instilling from the moment he walked through the door in May.
One swallow does not make a summer but the Giants finally have something to build on.
York, meanwhile, have the look of a team still finding their way at the start of their Super League adventure.
The Knights almost snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the closing stages but they were second best against Huddersfield.
After stringing together three straight wins to highlight their progress as a top-flight club, Mark Applegarth's side have taken a couple of steps backwards in the last two weeks.
Nevertheless, York – operating on half the central funding of most of their rivals – have put forward a strong case for a run in Super League.
This result will sting a club that now believe they should win these games.
The rivals shared 60 points at Magic Weekend but their third meeting of the year was a slow burner after a lively start.
Tom Inman had already had a try ruled out by the time David Nofoaluma broke the deadlock 10 minutes in.
The Giants allowed Paul McShane's testing kick to bounce and Nofoaluma raced through to touch down just before the dead-ball line.
Huddersfield's cause was not helped by the early loss of Niall Evalds to a head injury but they regrouped and grew into the game after surviving another wave of York pressure.
Instead of allowing their heads to drop following Mathieu Cozza's fumble in the act of scoring, the Giants continued to push and eventually found a way through.
The Knights conceded back-to-back penalties to invite their visitors in and were punished when Lewis Jagger forced his way over in heavy traffic.
Having dominated the opening exchanges, York must have been wondering how they were still level by the end of the half.
George Flanagan thought he had scored Huddersfield's second after dummying his way through, only for the video referee to spot an obstruction.
Then, with a matter of seconds remaining before the interval, Sam Hewitt dropped the ball when it appeared easier to score.
But the Knights were not so fortunate on the other side of the break.
Toa Mata'afa, who was unconvincing at the back throughout the first half, hesitated from Tui Lolohea's kick and paid a heavy price after seeing the half-back race through to beat him to the ball as it skirted away from him.
Lolohea continued to show both sides of his game, kicking out on the full to give York the field position for Scott Galeano to slice his way through before providing the cut-out pass that sent Connor Wrench over.
Flanagan's third conversion left Lenihan's Giants in uncharted territory but there were few signs of nerves as they defended their two-score lead.
One Nikau Williams break aside, Huddersfield did not waver – initially at least – and were on the brink when Zac Woolford reached out to score.
Jordan Thompson marked his 400th career appearance with a suitably committed finish before Inman flew in under the posts to set the cat among the pigeons.
But the Giants dug deep to see out the final few minutes and complete the most welcome of wins.
York Knights: Mata'afa, Bennison, Galeano, Williams, Nofoaluma, Hunter, McShane, Thompson, Inman, Va'a, Wood, Field, Hingano. Substitutes: Balmforth, Vaughan, Foster, Martin.
Tries: Nofoaluma (10), Galeano (50), Thompson (73), Inman (76).
Goals: Bennison 3/4.
Huddersfield Giants: Evalds, Flanagan, Wrench, Gagai, Jagger, Lolohea, Rush, Patolo, Woolford, Rogers, Hewitt, Dunford, Rushton. Substitutes: King, Greenwood, Cozza, Geyer.
Tries: Jagger (26), Lolohea (47), Wrench (54), Woolford (70).
Goals: Flanagan 4/4.
Referee: Tara Jones.