Castleford 19-31 Huddersfield: Jermaine McGillvary hat-trick sees Giants overcome Tigers

Jermaine McGillvary scored a hat-trick to help Huddersfield beat Castleford 31-19 at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Castleford went 10-0 up inside 12 minutes thanks to Gareth O’Brien and Greg Eden.

Huddersfield hit back with two tries through McGillvary and Jake Wardle to go 12-10 in front after 21 minutes.

But it was the Tigers who led 13-12 at the break after O’Brien added a penalty goal and a drop goal late in the first half.

Jack Sanderson scored on his Castleford debut shortly after the second half restart, with O’Brien then adding a penalty goal to give the Tigers a 19-12 lead.

The Giants pulled one back on the hour as winger McGillvary got his second. Sezer converted and they were only 19-18 behind.

Sezer added a drop goal in the 67th minute to tie the score at 19-19.

Huddersfield took the lead just moments later as Sezer went over, while McGillvary got his third late on to seal a 31-19 victory for the Giants.

Castleford: Clare; Sanderson, Blair, Shenton, Eden; O’Brien, Turner; Watts, McShane, Griffin, Sene-Lefao, McMeeken, Massey. Subs: Millington, O’Neill, Hepi, Fleming.

Tries: O’Brien, Eden, Sanderson Goals: O’Brien 3/5 Drop Goals: O’Brien 1

Huddersfield: Golding; McGillvary, Cudjoe, Jake Wardle, McIntosh; Turner, Sezer; Wilson, Holmes, Matagi, Edwards, McQueen, Lawrence. Subs: Russell, Wood, Trout, Gavet.

Tries: McGillvary (3), Jake Wardle, Sezer Goals: Sezer 5/5 Drop Goals: Sezer 1/1

Listen to The Final Hooter podcast, featuring exclusive interviews, every week. SUBSCRIBE to Love Rugby League on Apple Podcasts.