The One That Got Away

In sport, when you lose an important game, the pervasive question always begins with "what if?". For Huddersfield fans that will be no different following on from their heartbreaking Challenge Cup Final defeat to Wigan. If anything, given how close Huddersfield were to their first Cup success in 70 years, the list will be even longer.

What if Theo Fages had played?
What if Chris Hill hadn't got injured?
What if our goal kicking was more accurate?
What if Morgan Smithies had been sin binned?
What if the ball bounced away from Liam Marshall?

These 'what ifs' will be swirling around the Huddersfield camp for at least the next few days and it will be the job of Ian Watson to help the players put this disappointment behind them and switch focus back to Super League. But that will be hard. Sometimes the close defeats are the hardest to take. Wigan did not outclass Huddersfield yesterday but just found a way to be ahead on the scoreboard when it mattered.

Huddersfield largely played well. Their tactics were smart. Their discipline was good, their errors were kept to a minimum. It was a conservative approach but a sensible one. Huddersfield gave away several handovers near Wigan's line. Very conservative. But very smart. Why would you want to risk giving away a seven tackle set, with Bevan French or Jai Field taking a quick restart from the 20 metre line, when you can have a controlled, slow restart?

Kicking Boots

I was surprised to see Tui Lolohea kicking Huddersfield's conversions and penalties yesterday, when Ollie Russell is the usual place kicker. Russell was a doubt before the match and you wonder if the shifting of the kicking responsibilities was an implicit admission that playing him was a risk.

Lolohea missed four attempts at goal on the day. You never want to point fingers but it is hard to escape the fact that in a game as tight as that one, it was important. Huddersfield never had the breathing space that they otherwise may have had. After the final missed attempted, Lolohea grimaced and looked to the skies. The visible sign of frustration that perhaps showed that the added goalkicking responsibility may be impacting his overall game.

Clutch Moments

That being said, you win as a team, you lose as a team. Wigan missed several conversion attempts in their semi final against St Helens, but still won the match. Had Huddersfield been able to defend just one more play, then their name would have been on the Challenge Cup.

The nerves were intense, the pressure was huge. And it's harder still when you have had one of your key men missing for an hour with injury, rolling with one less prop forward than you had planned.

For long periods, it looked as though the big moment came courtesy of Jermaine McGillvary. He scored Huddersfield's final try. The 34 year old, one-club man and home town hero. It looked as though his dreams were going to come true. The ending to the game, with Liam Marshall beating him to a Harry Smith kick was the cruelest reminder that fairy tales do not always happen in sport.

The One That Got Away

There is a saying in sport that you've got to lose one to win one, in reference to finals. Statistically, that is nonsense. Sometimes you only get one shot at an occasion like this. With Wigan not at their best yesterday, Huddersfield must feel an immense amount of frustration that they could not finish the job, when they had one hand on the trophy. You never know when or if this opportunity will come again.

More positively for Huddersfield, they are led by a coach who has unexpectedly guided three underdog sides to major finals in four seasons. History suggests that Ian Watson knows how to get sides to the big stage. This was the one that got away for Huddersfield, their next aim is to make sure that it isn't another 13 years before they get their next opportunity.