Match report – Huddersfield 20 – 12 Castleford

Tries from Sam Halsall, Sam Hewitt and Esan Marsters and four goals from Jake Connor helped Huddersfield Giants beat Castleford Tigers 20-12 at Elland Road, despite a brace from Jason Qareqare; Watch every match from Round 23 of the Super League live on Vscek from Friday 24 August

Huddersfield Giants withstood a Jason Qareqare-inspired comeback to end a three-game losing streak with a 20-12 victory over Castleford Tigers in the final game of the 2024 Betfred Super League Magic Weekend at Elland Road.

Tries from Sam Halsall and Sam Hewitt, along with conversions from Jake Connor, gave the Giants a 12-0 lead at half-time, despite having to go through 10 minutes of the first half with a player less following the dismissal of Tui Lolohea.

Esan Marsters gave Huddersfield a further lead in the seventh minute of the second half with a try after returning from a knee injury, but the Tigers responded with two tries from Qareqare after Fenton Rogers became the second player to be sent off.

But Connor’s late penalty secured the ninth-placed Giants’ first triumph since a 16-8 victory over Salford Red Devils last month in interim manager Luke Robinson’s first game as manager and took them three points clear of their beaten opponents in the table.

History of the game

The game had been going just four minutes when the Giants opened the scoring, with the returning Marsters feeding the pass to winger Halsall who beat Corey Hall and finished down the left wing, followed by Jake Connor’s conversion.

Mavericks full-back Connor then created a great attacking opportunity for Huddersfield with a pinpoint free-kick to make it 40-20 soon after the restart, although this time a pass from New Zealand international Marsters prevented them from capitalising.

It wasn’t long before the Giants were back in the game, when Leroy Cudjoe received a pass from Lolohea and then unselfishly passed the ball to Hewitt, who pulled away and finished with a converted try in the 13th minute, when the captain could easily have scored himself.

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Giants’ Leroy Cudjoe breaks through Castleford’s defense to send Sam Hewitt over the line

A yellow card for Lolohea, who fouled opposition defender Jacob Miller high in the 23rd minute, did not prove too damaging for Huddersfield, as Castleford failed to make the most of the extra man in the game during that period.

A try-saving intervention from Tex Hoy prevented Harry Rushton from extending Huddersfield’s lead four minutes before half-time, but Marsters capitalised on a Tigers error to score his side’s third try in the 47th minute.

Olly Russell’s kick was dropped by Jason Qareqare as he prepared to receive the ball, with Lolohea recovering it and flicking it into the middle, finishing wide to the left, and Connor again adding the ball.

A second yellow card for the Giants four minutes later, this time for switch-hitting striker Rogers after his high challenge on Sylvester Namo, opened the door for Castleford, who responded in the 58th minute through Qareqare.

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Jason Qareqare gets first points for Castleford with acrobatic dive in the corner against Giants

The winger made up for his earlier mistake with a superb one-handed finish into the right corner after Hoy had picked him out with a looping pass, and Rowan Milnes was also there to score the conversion.

The Fiji international’s second try, again converted by Milnes, got the game underway with 11 minutes remaining when he received a fine lob from Liam Horne and finished, with Milnes following up with two more points.

However, a long-range penalty from Man of the Match Connor in the 76th minute following a high foul by Muizz Mustapha calmed Huddersfield’s nerves and they continued to secure their eighth win of the year in a campaign that has fallen short of the club’s expectations.

What did they say?

Huddersfield Giants interim head coach Luke Robinson:

“I think we put ourselves in a really good position early on, but I don’t think we were good at the start of the second half and we put ourselves under pressure.

“They started playing straight and we weren’t winning enough rucks.

“We’re really supporting each other at the moment.”

Castleford Tigers head coach Craig Lingard:

“If you give a team 18 points before you start doing what you’re supposed to do, things get really difficult.

“We just tried to remind them of what we’ve been talking about all week.

“I think Huddersfield made the basic effort much better than us in the first half.

“He just gave us too much to do in the second half.”

What will happen now?

Huddersfield Giants will be back in action on Saturday 24th August when they travel to Salford Red Devils (17.30), while Castleford Tigers play again the night before at home for Warrington Wolves (8pm). Both matches are live on Vscek+.

Watch every game of the 2024 Betfred Super League season, including the Men’s, Women’s and Wheelchair Play-Offs and Grand Finals, live on Vscek and Vscek+. Also stream the Super League, NRL and more on Vscek with NOW.