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 versus former club Huddersfield Giants to complete Tigers' first Super League win of the season.


Tries from Liam Hood, Darnell McIntosh and George Lawler had Tigers travelling inside the opening thirty minutes, however Jacob Gagai pulled one back just 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 en route to sealing a very first league win under head coach Ryan Carr.


The greatest event of the night was booked for Golding, as he crossed for a memorable first shot for his new club against the side he left after five years at the end of last season.


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The early season form and bad luck of the West Yorkshire competitors had mirrored one another before their meeting at the OneBore Stadium. Both had been winless, pointless and hit by injuries.


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


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


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


Castleford got a deserved second through McIntosh, who scrambled through a tired out Giants defence that had been pinned back on their line after Taane Milne gave away a reckless 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 shot in the 26th minute, however after that it was Huddersfield who finished the half stronger, with Zenon rejected by a try-saving tackle from Mikaele Ravalawa before Gagai eventually reacted with a 38th-minute score.


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


Flanagan provided Giants renewed hope when he struck back right after, however a second from Weaver put the result beyond doubt before Golding crashed over to trigger wild celebrations.


'We bet this winning feeling' - response


Castleford Tigers head coach Ryan Carr told BBC Radio Leeds:


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


"I'm actually pleased for my group and actually pleased for everyone associated with our club since a lot 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 given that the first day of pre-season, is enjoyable.


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


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


"We simply robbed ourselves of energy with the amont of dropped balls that we had in that first half. The lads tried hard, 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 once again, you are going to get the 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 just comes back to bite you. We just need to learn and need to find out 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.