How Ian Watson Significantly Improved Huddersfield Giants’ Performance

Virtually all of the drills and tactics were put forward by Ian Watson and interim coach Luke Robinson even explained that the departed coach had held a meeting earlier in the week, which he claimed was a major reset and gave the players a boost.

Speaking to the press, Robinson noted: “Earlier this week when Watto was involved in camp, we had an honest conversation with each other and it was probably the clearest thing I’ve gotten out of a conversation in a long time.

“It felt like all the cards were on the table and the boys really got a bit of a reset. We had a really good training week then, we trained really hard and the boys really went for it.”

Considering that Huddersfield Giants only really lost by the kick of the boot and scored as many tries as their opponents, this was a much better performance, and one that Watson clearly had a big influence on.

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Robinson gave Ian Watson even more credit when he explained that the lack of preparation time after the sacking meant he couldn’t make many changes.

He noted: “You can’t change everything overnight, in terms of the way we operate, the structures and everything.

“What I asked of them was to just play with some heart and desire, to really play for the badge, to play for the buddy next to them, to play for themselves, and you know what? I can’t put them down.”

Huddersfield Giants’ next game is a home game against Salford, something Robinson is looking forward to but may not be in charge of. He explained that he has no time frame for how long he will be in interim care.

Following the sacking of Simon Woolford in 2020, Grix has played eight games. There are currently 10 games left in the season and the club looks set to miss out on a play-off spot. The most telling sign of this is their immediate release of captain Luke Yates to join Warrington Wolves.

Robinson did speak about the length of his tenure, saying: “I’ve been told very little, if I’m honest. Very little at the moment.

“I know I’ve said it before, but my job at the moment is to try and put some pride back into the shirt. To get the players playing for each other, for the shirt and for themselves, and that was a step in the right direction.

“Right now I’m just looking at the short term and trying to get some profits on the board.”