Hull Kingston Rovers succumbed to only their fourth engage Super League defeat, but their second of the season to a Huddersfield Giants side who again had their number last night.

Only the Giants’ third home win ended Rovers’ five-match winning run in the league and further cemented Huddersfield’s place in the top four. Although still second in the table, the defeat left Rovers three points behind St Helens, for whom Paul Wellens scored a hat-trick of tries in a 30-6 victory away at Hull last night.

Justin Morgan, the Hull KR coach, omitted Paul Cooke, who was officially described as rested but sat glum-faced in the dugout, as his team-mates struggled without his kicking game in the wet. After their golden point loss in extra-time to Warrington Wolves in the Carnegie Challenge Cup last weekend, Rovers’ search for a silver lining proved fruitless against confident opponents who followed up their 30-8 victory at Craven Park in April.

Scott Moore, Huddersfield’s loan hooker from St Helens, celebrated his England call-up for next Saturday’s international against France in beating five defenders to the line for the first of two quickfire Huddersfield tries in two minutes, which laid the platform. The shaggy-haired Moore, 20, was everywhere in creating two more tries and directing his team from acting half-back.

Danny Kirmond, the Giants’ cup hero in last Sunday’s quarter-final defeat of Castleford Tigers, suffered a suspected fracture cheekbone in helping to set up the next score by Luke Robinson, after Kevin Brown’s dinked kick had left Liam Colbon flummoxed. Colbon looked to make amends but had the ball deliberately knocked from his grasp by Paul Whatuira. From the resulting scrum, Ben Galea’s cut-out pass put Kris Welham over.

Had Peter Fox controlled Michael Dobson’s kick to the corner, Rovers would have been on level terms. Instead they succumbed to Moore putting the galloping Lee Mossop, his fellow loanee from Wigan Warriors, clear for an 18-6 half-time advantage.

The result was put beyond doubt in the 70th minute. After Robinson had gone close, Moore, a deserved man of the match, was again the provider for Whatuira on the left.

Wigan moved into the top eight play-off places for the first time since March with a 34-18 victory over Salford City Reds at the JJB Stadium. Pat Richards scored two of six tries and landed five goals.

Scorers: Huddersfield Giants: Tries: Moore, Robinson, Mossop, Whatuira. Goals: Cudjoe 3.

Hull Kingston Rovers: Try: Welham. Goal: Dobson.

Huddersfield Giants: L Cudjoe; M Aspinwall, M Lawrence, P Whatuira, D Hodgson; K Brown, L Robinson; K Mason, S Moore, P Jackson, A Raleigh, D Kirmond, S Wild. Interchange: E Crabtree, D Faiumu, S Lunt, L Mossop.

Hull Kingston Rovers: S Briscoe; P Fox, K Welham, B Cockayne, L Colbon; B Galea, M Dobson; N Fozzard, D Fitzhenry, M Aizue, C Newton, C Walker, S Murrell. Interchange: J Netherton, S Gene, D Mills, B Fisher.

Referee: R Silverwood.