Warrington (6) 20
Tries: Riley, King, Penny, Clarke Goals: Hicks 2

Huddersfield (24) 38
Tries: Thorman, Wild 2, Brown, Hudson, Faiumu Goals: Thorman 7

Chris Thorman was in excellent form with 14 points with the boot

Warrington face a daunting away trip to Catalans Dragons in the Super League play-offs after losing to Huddersfield.

The Wolves conceded two tries in the first six minutes when Chris Thorman and Stephen Wild touched down before Chris Riley hit back for the home side.

But Kevin Brown and Ryan Hudson tries saw the Giants to 24-6 at half time.

Warrington scored three tries after the interval through Matt King, Jon Clarke and Kevin Penny but scores from David Faiumu and Wild settled the result.

Full-back Chris Thorman was in fine kicking form for Huddersfield, complementing his first-half try with 14 points with the boot.

A victory would have secured a Warrington a home tie against Wigan in next weekend's play-offs, but another indifferent performance saw James Lowes' side slip to their fourth successive defeat.

Huddersfield had been 12-0 up before Warrington had mustered a move together when Thorman and Wild ran through gaping defensive holes.

Warrington eventually managed to open their account through Riley - courtesy of fine work from Chris Hicks.

606: DEBATE I don't normally condone booing your own team but tonight Warrington fans were justified abrummierhino

Full-back Hicks kicked over the extras to become only the third player - after former Wigan captain Andy Farrell and Leeds skipper Kevin Sinfield - to score in every round of a Super League season.

The harsh weather conditions saw both sides concede number of rudimentary handling errors.

But Huddersfield managed two more tries before half time when Kevin Brown wriggled out of a Michael Monaghan tackle and replacement Ryan Hudson - making his final Giants appearance before moving to Castleford next season - latched on to Thorman's grubber kick.

The half-time whistle was greeted with boos by the home fans at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, with Thorman compounding matters with an early second-half penalty.

But the score sparked a three-try spree from the Wolves as King rounded off a slick passing move, winger Penny leapt above Martin Aspinwall to touch down Monaghan's high kick before hooker Clarke took advantage of a handling error.

The lead had been reduced to six points, but the Giants maintained their composure when hooker David Faiumu scored his first try for the club.

Thorman added a further penalty and converted Wild's second try in the final minutes to give Huddersfield a deserved victory.

Warrington coach James Lowes:
"It was shocking. We were poor throughout and I'm not very happy at all. We have a lot of things to work on. We seem to have a bit of a wall.

"The boys worked extremely hard to get into fourth spot and it was in our hands. Unfortunately, we have failed to produce in the last couple of games.

"It looks like we are running out of gas a bit, but we are in the six. Harsh words will be said and we'll get on with the play-offs. We've a tough game next week."

Huddersfield assistant coach Keiron Purtill:
"It was an excellent way to finish the season off. We've had some ups and downs this year and I think this victory ranks up with the Wigan away victory.

"I think we owed Warrington one. They have pipped us twice this year but this time we dug in deep and got our rewards with a win."

Warrington: Hicks, Riley, Grix, King, Penny, Gleeson, Monaghan, Morley, Clarke, Rauhihi, Mitchell, Westwood, Blythe, Wood, Parker, Parker, Cooper, Bracek.

Replacements: Wood for Morley (10), Cooper for Rauhihi (19), Parker for Mitchell (21), Parker for Blythe (62), Bracek for Wood (33), Mitchell for Parker (56), Blythe for Parker (79), Wood for Cooper (53), Cooper for Bracek (70).

Huddersfield: Hodgson, Aspinwall, Wild, Lawrence, Elford, Thorman, Robinson, Crabtree, Crabtree, Faiumu, Faiumu, Mason, Raleigh, Raleigh, Jones, Brown, Hudson, Jackson, Griffin, Kirmond.

Replacements: Jackson for Crabtree (21), Griffin for Crabtree (72), Hudson for Faiumu (20), Hudson for Faiumu (70), Griffin for Mason (19), Kirmond for Raleigh (31), Jones for Raleigh (76), Kirmond for Jones (69), Faiumu for Hudson (57), Crabtree for Jackson (51), Mason for Griffin (57), Raleigh for Kirmond (53).

Att: 8,585

Ref: B Thaler (Wakefield).

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