Super League Magic Weekend: Huddersfield 24-36 York - Giants suffer 10th-straight defeat as Cody Hunter leads Knights to victory
Cody Hunter and Jon Bennison scored two tries as York Knights inflicted another defeat on Huddersfield Giants, who have now lost 10 Betfred Super League games in a row; watch Super League's Magic Weekend across July 4 and 5 from Hill Dickinson Stadium, live on Sky Sports
Saturday 4 July 2026 15:55, UK
York Knights heaped more misery on Huddersfield as the Giants suffered their 10th straight defeat with a 36-24 loss in the opening match of the 2026 Super League Magic Weekend.
Huddersfield came into the match at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium after pushing Wakefield Trinity close last week, but the Giants, who had an early try from Tanguy Zenon chalked off, struggled to find any momentum.
The defeat means Huddersfield's new coach Jim Lenihan is still without a win since he took over in May, with the Giants now six points behind the Knights at the bottom of the table.
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"That is disappointing for us," Lenihan told Sky Sports.
"We played we some good parts of the game, but defensively we were poor. At the moment, we are very inconsistent with how we are performing.
"The win will come with our performance - we have got to keep working hard in training."
York, meanwhile, were spurred to their second successive Super League victory by player-of-the-match Cody Hunter and Jon Bennison, who touched down for two tries apiece.
The Knights were excellent in all aspects, showcasing their brilliant handling skills to set up Bennison, who danced his way around three Huddersfield defenders for the opening try of Magic Weekend.
Betfred are donating £180 for every try celebration performed during Magic Weekend to the Motor Neurone Disease Association, with Bennison turning to the York fans behind the goal and performing 'the robot'.
"The message all week has been trying to go back to back for the first time," Bennison told Sky Sports.
"It is huge, it is massive, I am just trying to take it all in," he added about playing at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
"It is always very special to be a part of and I am really thankful to the York fans."
Although York looked the better team over the first 10 minutes of the match, it was not long before the Giants struck back through Chris Patolo, who capitalised on an excellent move through the hands before beating former Man of Steel Paul McShane and gliding his way across the try line.
York struck again through Hunter, who produced a moment of individual brilliance, stepping around multiple defenders, before driving his way over the line.
The Knights were just as good in defence as they were in attack, holding out to a barrage of crash balls on their own try line, before once again working the ball through the hands to get up field, with Hunter's looping pass out to the wing setting up David Nofoaluma for their third try of the first half.
Lenihan must have given his side a rousing team talk, as they came out of the blocks flying, with Zane Dunford bulldozing his way across the line.
But York were just too good for their opponents, with Nikau Williams riding a big shot, before he managed to get the ball down to keep the Knights in command.
Fears mounted after Patolo fell to the floor after suffering a brutal head collision, and appearing to have been knocked unconscious in a tackle.
Medics rushed on to the field, but thankfully after a few minutes the prop forward returned to his feet and walked off the pitch, but would not return for the remainder of the match.
The Knights continued to press and things began to turn embarrassing for the Giants, with Denive Balmforth, Hunter and Bennison all scoring in quick succession to lump even more woe on Huddersfield.
But the Giants were not done there. Gallantly, Tui Lolohea sped down the wing and found Adam Swift on his inside. The ball was recycled and flung out to Oli Russell, who charged in to pull one back, before George Flanagan snagged a last-gasp try to cut the deficit to just 12 points.
Applegarth: We wanted more consistency
York Knights will take on Hull FC in their next Super League game, and their head coach Mark Applegarth was pleased that his side appear to have found some consistency.
"This is what we have been aiming for this week, we are really happy," Applegarth told Sky Sports.
"Confidence has been down when you are chopping and changing teams. We wanted to get some consistency.
"We will take those two points."
Super League 2026 - upcoming key dates
- Rivals Round reversed: July 23-July 26
- Elimination Play-offs: September 19-September 20
- Play-off semi-finals: September 26-September 27
- Grand Final: October 3
Sky Sports will show every game of the Super League live this season, including two matches each round exclusively live. The remaining five matches will be broadcast on Sky Sports+. Watch all the Magic Round matches LIVE on Sky Sports between July 4 and 5 Get Sky Sports or stream contract-free on NOW
