Huddersfield Giants captain Adam Clune made a try-scoring return to Super League after he helped his side produce a shock victory over Wigan Warriors on Saturday.
The half-back scored arguably the try of the afternoon as he finished off a well-worked team move to seal the upset win. The game was the first to feature Clune since round 14 of last season, with injury hampering him, and the majority of his teammates’, last 12 months.
He, alongside full-back Niall Evalds made their return from injury, whilst Connor Wrench and Jacob Douglas made their club debuts after signing in recent weeks.
Clune was awarded the Sky Sports man of the match for his efforts, and he praised his teammate trio for performing brilliantly on their efforts in Claret and Gold.
“On an individual level, I’m really happy to be back out in the field,” Clune said to pundits Stuart Pyke and Jon Wells. “[Happy for] Niall Evalds as well, he’s had a bit of a bad run and we had Connor Wrench’s debut and Jacob Douglas coming from St Helens, so really happy to get back on the field.”
It has been a hectic week for the Giants, who were under the leadership of interim boss Liam Finn at the weekend after the club parted ways with Luke Robinson on March 22. Many believe that Robinson was given an unfair crack at the Huddersfield role, with injuries forcing him to be assessed on an under-strength side rather than his best 13.
Saturday’s result shows just how much having a first-choice spine playing together can affect a performance, and had he been given one more week in charge, he would have been in the coaching box seeing the rewards of his patience, rather than sat at home.
Commenting on the week that was, Clune said: “Overall, [it’s] a little bit bittersweet to be honest. Losing ‘Robbo’ at the start of the week, I would have loved for him to be a part of this, but that’s the nature of the beast and we have to move on.
“But, a really good performance from the team and hopefully just continue to improve from here.”
Luke Robinson sacked, Hull KR and why it could actually be Warrington Wolves’ year? – click here to watch the latest episode of the Serious About Rugby League Show
Huddersfield Giants skipper praises playmakers after Wigan Warriors victory
Speaking on how the spine gelled, the former Newcastle Knights man added: “That’s actually the first competition game we’ve played together as a spine. We didn’t play a single game together last year and obviously we got that trial against York in the pre-season, but that was our first competition game.
“Obviously, not an ideal setup, but hopefully we can stay on the field now and continue to work on our combinations.”
Asked if this could be the match that ignites Huddersfield’s 2026 season, Clune said: “Yeah, hopefully. Look, it’s just a win and getting that first win’s always nice, to get the monkey off the back.
“It was a real positive to stay in it, against a good team like Wigan you can always fall apart when they’ve got a try and got a bit of momentum.
“I know it’s cliché, but one game at a time, we’ve got a tough game next week against York, we’ve been playing really good footy and then obviously got that challenge cup week off where we can start to really build as a team.
“It’s still early in the season, so if we can keep building from there then yeah hopefully we can get more good results and more good performances.”
