Castleford Beat Giants For Very 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 travelling inside the opening 30 minutes, however Jacob Gagai pulled one back prior to the break to make it 16-4.


Tom Weaver then got 2 vital second-half tries, either side of George Flanagan's four-pointer, to put Tigers on the way to sealing a first league win under head coach Ryan Carr.


The most significant of the night was scheduled for Golding, as he crossed for an unforgettable 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 kind and misery of the West Yorkshire rivals had mirrored one another before their meeting at the OneBore Stadium. Both had 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 recently's defeat at Toulouse, while Giants were without a host of hurt regulars themselves, consisting of Liam Sutcliff, Joe Greenwood and Harry Rushton since of lengthy lay-offs.


France global Tanguy Zenon started for injury-hit Huddersfield just 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 second 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 handed out a negligent penalty for his high hit on Krystian Mapapalangi.


Milne remained 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 ended up 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 inefficient looking for a way 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 offered Giants restored hope when he countered not long after, but a second from Weaver put the outcome beyond doubt before Golding crashed over to trigger wild events.


'We bet this winning sensation' - 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 sensation today.


"I'm truly pleased for my team and really delighted for everyone involved in 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 since day one of pre-season, is enjoyable.


"But it is one win, we have to keep making sure we perform regularly weekly 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 first half. The lads strove, however they were exhausted.


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


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


"Look, they are running around, scrambling and trying their hardest but ultimately it just returns to bite you. We just need to discover and need 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.