Match Report – Huddersfield 24 – 36 York

Cody Hunter and Jon Bennison scored two tries as York Knights beat Huddersfield Giants, who have now lost 10 Betfred Super League games in a row; watch the Super League Magic Weekend on July 4 and 5 from Hill Dickinson Stadium, live on Sky Sports

York Knights heaped more misery on Huddersfield as the Giants suffered their tenth straight defeat with a 36-24 defeat in the opening match of the 2026 Super League Magic Weekend.

Huddersfield came into the game at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium after pushing Wakefield Trinity to a close last week, but the Giants, who had Tanguy Zenon’s first try, failed to gain momentum.

The defeat means that new Huddersfield manager Jim Lenihan has not won a game since taking over in May, with the Giants six points behind the Knights.

Paul McShane (left) organized the process for York

“That’s disappointing,” Lenihan said Sky Sports.

“We played good parts of the game, but defensively we were poor. At the moment we are not very consistent with the way we are doing.

It was another disappointing loss for Huddersfield Giants

“Winning will come from our performance – we have to keep working hard in training.”

York, meanwhile, were boosted to their second successive Super League win by standouts Cody Hunter and Jon Bennison, who scored two tries each.

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Jon Bennison scores the first try of the 2026 Magic Weekend match between Huddersfield and York

The Knights were on top in every aspect, showing their handling skills to set up Bennison, who danced around three Huddersfield defenders for the first try of the Magic Weekend.

Betfred is donating £180 for every try celebration during the Magic Weekend to the Motor Neurone Disease Association, with Bennison turning to the York fans after the goal and impersonating a ‘robot’.

“The message all week is trying to get back the first time,” Bennison said Sky Sports.

York’s Toa Mata’afa crashes through the Huddersfield defence

“It’s big, it’s big, I’m trying to take it all in,” he added of playing at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

“It’s always very special to be a part of and I’m very grateful to the York fans.”

Although York looked the better team in the first 10 minutes of the game, it wasn’t long before the Giants hit Chris Patolo, who used a good hand movement before beating former Iron Man Paul McShane and crossing the try line.

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Magic Weekend, 4th and 5th July. Live on Sky Sports

York also pounced on Hunter, who produced a moment of individual brilliance, weaving around multiple defenders, before driving into the lane.

The Knights were as good in defense as they were in attack, catching a flurry of smashing balls on their try line, before again using the ball to get up front, with Hunter’s pass out on the wing to David Nofoaluma for their third try of the first half.

Lenihan must have given his team a rousing team speech, as they came out of the blocks in the flight, with Zane Dunford firing over the line.

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Everton defender James Tarkowski joins St Helens star and Toffees fan Jackson Hastings at the BrewDog Stadium to take part in a number of challenges ahead of Super League’s Magic Weekend.

But York were too good for their opponents, with Nikau Williams landing a great shot, before he was able to get the ball down to keep the Knights in control.

Fears grew after Patolo fell to the ground after a heavy collision with his head, appearing to be unconscious.

Doctors rushed to the field, but thankfully after a few minutes the prop player got back on his feet and left the field, but did not return for the rest of the game.

Cody Hunter celebrates after scoring for York Knights against Huddersfield Giants

The Knights continued to press and things started to get ugly for the Giants, Denive Balmforth, Hunter and Bennison all scored in quick succession until it was even more difficult for Huddersfield.

But the Giants could not be finished there. Boldly, Tui Lolohea sped down and found Adam Swift inside her. The ball was then thrown to Oli Russell, who came through to pull one back, before George Flanagan crossed to cut the deficit to just 12 points.

Applegarth: We wanted more consistency

York Knights will face Hull FC in their next Super League game, and their head coach Mark Applegarth is pleased that his side seem to have found some consistency.

“This is what we were aiming for this week, we’re very happy,” Applegarth said Sky Sports.

“Confidence has dropped when you cut down and change teams, we wanted to get a goal.

“We will take those two points.”

Super League 2026 – important dates ahead

• Rivals Round postponed: July 23-July 26
• To finish playing games: September 19-September 20
• It’s a semi-final: September 26-September 27
• Grand Final: October 3

Sky Sports will show every Super League game live this season, including two games in each round in a live special. The remaining five games will be broadcast on Sky Sports+. Watch all the Magic Round matches LIVE on Sky Sports between July 4 and 5 Get Sky Sports or stream without a contract NOW