Stone: Lack of depth is hurting us

Huddersfield head coach Rick Stone admitted his squad’s lack of depth is a growing concern after the Giants were knocked out of the Challenge Cup by Swinton on Sunday.

The Lions made their way into round six with a deserved 28-24 success at the John Smith’s Stadium and Stone could not hide his disappointment after the game.

“It wasn’t good – it probably gives an indication of where our squad are at the moment,” said Stone.

“The depth and number of players out of the team at the moment hurt us a bit. I have no worries about the boys who were out there. They tried but the opposition came and challenged and were hungry and deserved their win.

“The Championship is full of hardened pros who have been around the block and know know to win games, and we saw a bit of that today.

“There’s no denying that is a massive blow for us and everyone is very disappointed – you can feel it.

“There were a few senior players out today and a few long-term injuries and those with niggles, but we had a good enough team out to win but we didn’t.”