Two of the bottom three sides had a Saturday afternoon
meeting as the Huddersfield Giants hosted the Castleford Tigers, the former
looking for their first win of the season to lift them off the bottom, the
latter for their second to lift them four points clear of their opponents.
The Giants were slight favourites with the bookies and were
handicapped by two points on the coupon but there was little to chose between
the two sides who have both had a tortured start to the 2025 season and neither
of whom had fired in any way.
The Giants have won the last seven meetings between the two
sides, and it is almost two years since the Tigers faced victory against their near
neighbours, what the home fans would give to see their side register their
first points of 2025.
With just two minutes on the clock the Tigers took the lead
as Innes Senior was on hand to take a ball smuggled to him by Sam Wood after he
took a high kick to the corner. Rowan Milnes was wide with his touchline
conversion attempt.
There seemed to be plenty of space for both sides and on
seven minutes Adam Swift broke the line and found Jacob Gagai ten metres inside
his own half but stepped on the gas and went in to score under the sticks.
George Flanagan added the conversion for a 6-4 lead to the Giants. It looked
like it was going to be one of those afternoons.
The lead swung back to Castleford in twenty-one, Josh Simm
finally finding the space to take advantage of an overlap and take a Tex Hoy
pass and go over in the right corner. Milnes was again tight against the
touchline but this time he found the target for 10-6.
The time gap to the third Tigers try was just four minutes,
this time it was Alex Mellor who pushed over the line and forced the ball to
the ground after leaping to collect a Daejarn Asi high kick. Milnes found the
target again, the Tigers with a 16-6 lead and starting to control the game.
A shoulder to head contact from Joe Westerman on Matty English
saw the Tigers man sin-binned on thirty-three, the Giants thrown a one-man
advantage for the rest of the half.
Four minutes from the interval the Tigers added a penalty
goal from fifteen metres out to extend the lead to two converted tries.
An incredible Judah Rimbu 20-40 with the second half five
minutes old set up the perfect attacking position which, three tackles into the
set, saw Senior go in for his second try of the game down the left-hand side. Milnes
added the conversion, again from the touchline, the points heading back to the
Jungle.
It was way too easy for the Tigers on the hour as Milnes
went through a big gap off a Hoy inside pass, right in front of the sticks, to
add a try to his four goals. Milnes added the goal to his try for 30-6, the
Giants broken.
The Giants got a second try of the game on sixty-six when Oliver
Wilson crashed over the line from close range. Flanagan added the conversion. It was the last scoring action of the game as the clock ran down to the final hooter.
Another game, another loss, for the woeful Giants who must
now be wondering whether they will go through the season without a single league
point. The Tigers looked decent in spells in a poor game and will be thankful
of the points, however they got added to their total. Neither of these sides
are going to bother the top six and the play-offs, they are playing for a bit
of pride and IMG points for the end of season appraisals.
Huddersfield Giants: Gagai (T), Carr, Halsall, Bibby Jake, Swift,
Rush, Flanagan (G 2/2), Wilson (T), Golding, Burgess, Hewitt, Greenwood,
Cudjoe. Subs: English, Milne, Bibby Jack, Woolford. 18th Man: Billington.
Castleford Tigers: Hoy, Simm (T), Cini, Wood, Senior (2T),
Asi, Milnes (T, G 5/6), Amone, Rimbu, Dezaria, Simbiken, Mellor (T), Lawler. Subs:
Westerman (SB on 33), Okoro, Singleton, Salabio. 18th Man: Horne.
Half-Time: 6-18.
Full-Time: 12-30.
Score Progression: 0-4, 4-4, 6-4, 6-8, 6-10, 6-14, 6-16, (SB),
6-18 : HT: 6-22, 6-24, 6-28, 6-30, 10-30, 12-30 :FT.
Lead Exchanges: Castleford – Square – Huddersfield – Castleford.
Referee: Marcus Griffiths.
