Huddersfield 36-24 Castleford: Giants survive second half fight-back- talking points
Huddersfield Giants survived a second half fight-back from Castleford Tigers to claim their fourth win of the season at the John Smith’s Stadium.
A Ricky Leutele hat-trick in the closing stages recovered the game for the Giants, who went 24-18 down with an hour on the clock having been 18-0 up at half-time.
Huddersfield welcomed back Danny Levi from suspension. He replaced Ashton Golding in the matchday 17 in the Giants’ only change from their win against Salford last week.
Meanwhile, Castleford welcomed back Kenny Edwards and Liam Watts to their matchday 17. They returned to the bench in place of Sam Hall and Brad Martin.
Match Report
Huddersfield struck first after just nine minutes. Owen Trout came onto a short ball from Danny Levi and barged over by the posts. Will Pryce scored the conversion to open up a six-point lead for the Giants.
Just a couple of minutes later, the Giants doubled their lead. Chris McQueen rose highest from a kick, and offloaded to Luke Yates, who went over under the posts. Pryce added the conversion.
Things got even worse for Castleford just before the half-hour. Tui Lolohea put a low kick towards the in-goal area, and McQueen was held back by Jake Trueman as he tried to get on the end of it. It was checked for a penalty try by video referee Jack Smith, but it wasn’t given. However, Trueman was sent to the sin bin as a penalty was still given.
From the resulting penalty, Pryce slotted over his third goal of the afternoon to open up a three-score lead for the Giants.
Just past the half-hour, Huddersfield made the extra man count with their third try. They spread the ball out to the wing, and Jermaine McGillvary bumped off the tackle attempt of Gareth O’Brien to score. Pryce’s conversion attempt drifted wide.
However, the first half would end with both sides down to 12 men. Levi was sent to the sin bin with four minutes left of the half after a late hit on Joe Westerman.
HT- Huddersfield 18-0 Castleford
Castleford needed to respond first in the second half, and they did just two minutes in. Liam Watts managed to break clear of the defence, and put Trueman over for the try by the posts. Gareth O’Brien converted to reduce the deficit to 12 points.
Just 10 minutes into the second half, Castleford claimed their second try to get themselves right back into the contest. Mahe Fonua went from dummy half and was judged to have got the ball down after a long deliberation from the video referee. O’Brien converted to bring the Tigers back within a converted try.
Soon after, Huddersfield were given a second yellow card of the afternoon. McGillvary was sent to the sin bin after he was judged to have hit O’Brien late.
Almost straight away, Castleford made the extra man count. They went to the side where McGilvary would have been, and Eden slid over in the corner. O’Brien converted to level the scores at 18 apiece.
Castleford then completed the turnaround just before the hour. Eden managed to break free from Pryce and get down the wing, before passing inside to the supporting Trueman, who went over for his second try. O’Brien converted to give the Tigers a six-point lead.
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However, the match was soon 12 against 12 for the second time. This time, George Lawler was sent to the sin bin after lifting Trout above the horizontal.
Once again, a yellow card resulted in a try. Straight away, Olly Russell span a pass out to Ricky Leutele, who threw a dummy and opened up the gap to score. Pryce converted from the touchline for a level game.
With eight minutes left, the next try was crucial, and it was the hosts who scored it. They put the ball out wide and Leutele was able to slide over for his second. Pryce was once again able to convert from the touchline to put them back ahead by six points.
The Giants made the game safe in the closing stages. Leutele was able to get the ball down under pressure from Paul McShane out wide to claim his hat-trick. Pryce added the conversion to put Huddersfield ahead by 12.
That was the way it ended, and Huddersfield could celebrate a hard-fought victory. They face Hull FC next week at the MKM Stadium. Meanwhile, Castleford travel to Wigan next Thursday.
FT- Huddersfield 36-24 Castleford
Team News
Huddersfield: Lolohea, Senior, Leutele, Cudjoe, McGillvary, Russell, Pryce, Hill, Levi, Trout, McQueen, Yates, Roberts. Subs: English, Greenwood, O’Brien, Ikahihifo.
Tries: Trout, Yates, McGillvary, Leutele (3). Goals: Pryce 6/7
Castleford: O’Brien, Olpherts, Fonua, Turner, Eden, McShane, Trueman, Matagi,Lawler, Smith, Blair, Westerman, Sutcliffe. Subs: Watts, Edwards, Hepi, Robb.
Tries: Trueman (2), Fonua, Eden. Goals: O’Brien 4/4
Talking Points
More Yellow Card debate
The first half alone saw two more yellow cards handed out to players. Jake Trueman was sent to the sin bin first, after pulling back Chris McQueen. There was a debate over whether or not a penalty try should have been given, as McQueen was about to gather the ball and score a try. Just before half-time, Danny Levi was also sent to the sin bin after catching Joe Westerman late. Sky Sports pundit Barrie McDermott labelled the decision “a joke.” This continued into the second half, with Jermaine McGillvary’s yellow card after catching Gareth O’Brien.
Castleford a different side in the second half
Having got off to such a slow start in the first half, Castleford came out a different team in the second half. They scored four tries in 20 minutes to turn the game on its head. It made the second half a real spectacle. In the first half, they just couldn’t get close to the Giants.
Huddersfield hold their nerve
After a disastrous start to the second half, Huddersfield were able to regain their composure and win the game. Ricky Leutele’s 16-minute hat-trick near the end proved to be the difference and got the Giants the two points.
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