Ian Watson urges Huddersfield Giants to use Challenge Cup pain as fuel in Wigan Warriors rematch

The Giants had one hand on the trophy in the Tottenham final, only for Liam Marshall to break their hearts in the dying minutes.

The round five clash at the John Smith's Stadium is the first meeting between the sides since that May afternoon in the capital, offering Huddersfield a chance to exorcise any lingering demons.

"It keeps bugging me when I speak to (former Wigan player) Jake Bibby," joked Watson. "I've mentioned it to him a few times.

"Hopefully we can turn the tables on them. It was a big occasion and a big day.

"They got the spoils and deserved it for the way they stuck in, even though we felt we were the better team. They stuck to their task really well which is Wigan-like. We know we've got to go a little bit further this time to make sure we get the win."

The Warriors are striving for consistency at the start of the new campaign after suffering defeats to Hull KR and Catalans Dragons either side of convincing wins over early strugglers Wakefield Trinity and Castleford Tigers.

Watson is expecting the best version of Matt Peet's side tonight.

"Wigan are a good team," said the Giants boss, whose team are fresh from back-to-back victories against Wakefield and Castleford.

"I know they've had a little bit of an indifferent start from what they normally would because they normally fly in.

"They're at 50 per cent at the moment so they'll be looking for a response.

"The foundations of our performances have been good the last two weeks in terms of our defensive mindset.

"We're going to need to be very, very good defensively to keep out Wigan.

"It's going to be a tough, physical game. I think everyone knows what Wigan are about and how they pride themselves on how they play the game.

"You look at our games against them last year – tight games and tough contests. We're expecting the same again. Nothing less than our best will be good enough."

With four-peat Super League champions St Helens due at the John Smith's Stadium next Thursday, Huddersfield will find out a lot about themselves in the next two matches.

"If you win both those games, it gives you a massive boost of confidence," added Watson.

"These are two top, top teams and have been top, top teams for decades let alone years.

"We need to make sure we're showing people what our standards are and what the club is about nowadays.

"It's a big couple of weeks for us. We're sat happy at the moment after winning two of the first three and now we come up to real tough challenges.

"We need to be at our best because it could set us up really nicely for the rest of the season."