Huddersfield Giants dent Widnes Viking's top eight hopes

Widnes' top eight hopes suffered a blow after they lost 30-22 at home to 12-man Huddersfield on Sunday.

England forward Brett Ferres was sent off after just 12 minutes after referee Richard Silverwood spotted the Giants forward punching Rhys Hanbury.

The loss of Ferres led to the Huddersfield trailing 10-6 at half-time, but in the second half they outscored their opponents by four tries to two for an important win that keeps them within touching distance of the top Super League sides.

Widnes led the game 16-12 with 13 minutes of the second half gone, but Jack Hughes, Luke Robinson and Jodie Broughton all crossed to give the Giants a lead that proved too difficult for the home side to overcome.

Widnes were first to score through Patrick Ah Van moments before Ferres saw red, and it took Huddersfield until the half-hour mark before they scored, with Ukuma Ta'ai registering a try on the back of good team play.

The Vikings hit back almost immediately with a Jack Owens try, leaving the score at 10-6 at the break.

Huddersfield’s Craig Kopczak opened the scoring in the second half, but again the score was negated in short time by Widnes, with Kevin Brown crossing for his first of the afternoon.

Then came the flurry of tries from the Giants, with Hughes, Robinson and Broughton all scoring within the space of 17 minutes. A superb kicking display from Danny Brough ensured that all were converted to give his side a 30-16 lead with 10 minutes remaining.

Widnes hit back with a try near the end, with Brown dotting down for his second, but it was too late for his side to steal a win from the visiting Giants.