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 launching against previous club Huddersfield Giants to complete Tigers' very 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 got two vital second-half shots, either side of George Flanagan's four-pointer, to put Tigers en route to sealing a first league win under head coach Ryan Carr.


The most significant event of the night was reserved for Golding, as he crossed for a remarkable first shot for his new club versus 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 mirrored one another before their meeting at the OneBore Stadium. Both had been winless, meaningless and hit by injuries.


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


France global Tanguy Zenon began for injury-hit Huddersfield just 2 days after joining the club, while there were Tigers debuts for Wigan loanee George Hirst and former Giants pair Jack Ashworth and Golding.


Hood offered the hosts the perfect start, darting from dummy-half to grab his 2nd shot of the season after Joe Stimson was lowered close to the line.


Castleford got a been worthy of second through McIntosh, who rushed through a tired out Giants defence that had been pinned back on their line after Taane Milne gave away a careless penalty for his high hit on Krystian Mapapalangi.


Milne was in the sin-bin when Lawler crashed over under the posts for Castleford's third try in the 26th minute, but after that it was Huddersfield who ended up the half stronger, with Zenon denied by a try-saving deal with from Mikaele Ravalawa before Gagai ultimately reacted with a 38th-minute rating.


Huddersfield continued to threaten however were inefficient searching for a method back into the game before Weaver got on completion of a brilliantly weighted grubber kick from Daejarn Asi to edge Castleford 18 points ahead.


Flanagan provided Giants renewed hope when he countered not long after, but a 2nd from Weaver put the outcome beyond doubt before Golding crashed over to trigger wild events.


'We bet this winning sensation' - reaction


Castleford Tigers head coach Ryan Carr told BBC Radio Leeds:


"That's what we bet, we play to win and play for this feeling today.


"I'm really pleased for my group and really for everyone associated with our club because a great deal of work has actually entered 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 tough work they have actually done since the first day of pre-season, is satisfying.


"But it is one win, we have to keep making certain we carry out regularly each week now."


"I thought we were rubbish, as plain and simple 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 exhausted.


"I believe they completed 100% [of their sets] in the 2nd half, and we finished around 60-odd. If you simply offer the opposition the ball over and over once again, you are going to get the exact same result.


"Eventually it simply robs you of energy and you are basically using fumes.


"Look, they are running around, scrambling and trying their hardest but ultimately it simply returns to bite you. We simply require to discover and require to learn quick."


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.