Castleford Beat Giants For First Super League Win

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Castleford Tigers (16) 34


Tries: Hood, McIntosh, Lawler, Weaver 2, Golding Goals: Weaver 5


Huddersfield Giants (4) 8


Tries: Gagai, Flanagan


Ashton Golding scored on his Castleford debut against previous club Huddersfield Giants to finish Tigers' first Super League win of the season.


Tries from Liam Hood, Darnell McIntosh and George Lawler had Tigers cruising inside the opening 30 minutes, but Jacob Gagai pulled one back right before the break to make it 16-4.


Tom Weaver then grabbed two crucial second-half shots, either side of George Flanagan's four-pointer, to put Tigers on the way to sealing a very first league win under head coach Ryan Carr.


The biggest celebration of the night was reserved for Golding, as he crossed for a memorable very first shot for his new club against the side he left after 5 years at the end of last season.


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The early season type and misery of the West Yorkshire rivals had actually mirrored one another before their conference at the OneBore Stadium. Both had actually been winless, meaningless and struck by injuries.


Captain Alex Mellor ended up being the current Tiger to be sidelined after he broke his leg in last week's defeat at Toulouse, while Giants were without a host of injured regulars themselves, including Liam Sutcliff, Joe Greenwood and Harry Rushton since of prolonged lay-offs.


France worldwide Tanguy Zenon started for injury-hit Huddersfield simply 2 days after joining the club, while there were Tigers debuts for Wigan loanee George Hirst and previous Giants pair Jack Ashworth and Golding.


Hood provided the hosts the ideal start, darting from dummy-half to get his 2nd shot of the season after Joe Stimson was lowered near the line.


Castleford got a should have second through McIntosh, who rushed through a tired out Giants defence that had been pinned back on their line after Taane Milne distributed a reckless charge for his high hit on Krystian Mapapalangi.


Milne remained in the sin-bin when Lawler crashed over under the posts for Castleford's 3rd try in the 26th minute, however after that it was Huddersfield who ended up the half more powerful, with Zenon denied by a try-saving deal with from Mikaele Ravalawa before Gagai ultimately responded with a 38th-minute score.


Huddersfield continued to threaten however were wasteful in search of a method back into the game before Weaver got on the end of a remarkably weighted grubber kick from Daejarn Asi to edge Castleford 18 points ahead.


Flanagan gave Giants restored hope when he countered soon after, but a 2nd from Weaver put the outcome beyond doubt before Golding crashed over to spark wild events.


'We play for this winning feeling' - response


Castleford Tigers head coach Ryan Carr told BBC Radio Leeds:


"That's what we play for, we play to win and play for this feeling right now.


"I'm really pleased for my group and truly delighted for everyone associated with our club since a great deal of work has gone into getting to this point. And there will continue to be a lot more work.


"But to be able to see them with a smile on their faces, with all the effort they have actually done considering that day one of pre-season, is pleasurable.


"But it is one win, we need to keep making sure we every week now."


"I believed we were rubbish, as plain and easy as that.


"We simply robbed ourselves of energy with the amont of dropped balls that we had in that very first half. The lads strove, but they were tired.


"I think they finished 100% [of their sets] in the second half, and we completed around 60-odd. If you simply give the opposition the ball over and over again, you are going to get the very same result.


"Eventually it just robs you of energy and you are essentially playing on fumes.


"Look, they are running around, rushing and trying their hardest but eventually it just comes back to bite you. We simply require to find out and require to find out fast."


Castleford Tigers: Cini, Ravalawa, Mapapalangi, McIntosh, Qaraqare, Asi, Weaver, Atoni, Hood, Westerman, Lane, Hirst, Stimson.


Replacements: Lawler, Ashworth, Hall, Golding.


Huddersfield Giants: Patolo, Woolford, Rogers, O'Donnell, Billington, Powell, Russell, Lolohea, Halsall, Milne, Gagai, Zenon, Flanagan.


Replacements: Burgess, King, Rush, English.


Referee: Matty Lynn.