Huddersfield Giants defeated Castleford Tigers 20-12 in the final match of this year’s Magic Weekend.
The Giants had the first opportunity of the game when Tex Hoy was held behind the line while Jake Bibby chased Tui Lolohea’s grubber kick.
Huddersfield took the lead in the fourth minute when Sam Halsall scored, with Jake Connor adding the conversion from the touchline to make it 6-0.
Castleford struggled on the edges, and after Huddersfield was awarded a penalty for an infringement, Leroy Cudjoe cut through weak defense to set up Sam Hewitt for another try. Connor’s successful conversion extended the lead to 12-0 after 14 minutes.
A penalty for a high tackle on Miller provided some relief for the Tigers, with Lolohea being sin-binned for the incident. Despite this, the Tigers failed to capitalize and Huddersfield maintained their 12-0 lead at halftime.
The Giants seized the first opportunity of the match when Tex Hoy was held behind the line as Jake Bibby pursued Tui Lolohea’s grubber kick.
Huddersfield took an early lead in the fourth minute with Sam Halsall scoring, and Jake Connor converted from the touchline to make it 6-0.
Castleford struggled defensively, and after Huddersfield was awarded a penalty for an infringement, Leroy Cudjoe exploited the soft defense to assist Sam Hewitt for another try. Connor’s conversion extended the Giants’ lead to 12-0 after 14 minutes.
A high tackle on Miller resulted in a penalty for Castleford and a sin-bin for Lolohea. Despite this advantage, the Tigers could not score, and Huddersfield retained their 12-0 lead at halftime.
Despite no mitigating factors, Rogers was given just a yellow card before El-Zakhem was adjudged to have lost possession over the line.
The Tigers looked lost with ball in hand but they finally had some points as the hour approached, a wonderful looping pass from Hoy found Qareqare in the corner. Milnes converted to reduce the deficit to 12 at 18-6.
It was all the Tigers now and an incredible piece of skill from Liam Horne saw them back to within six points.
A run around with Milnes gave the PNG international the space to chip over the top of the Giants’ defence for an onrushing Qareqare to fly in for his second. Milnes’ conversion made it 18-12 with ten minutes to go.
But, Connor made sure of the victory with a late penalty.
Huddersfield Giants
1 Jake Connor – 9
5 Jake Bibby – 7
3 Esan Marsters – 9
4 Kevin Naiqama – 7
24 Sam Halsall – 6
6 Tui Lolohea – 7
23 Olly Russell – 7
8 Chris Hill – 7
9 Adam Milner – 6
33 Andre Savelio – 6
16 Harry Rushton – 6
12 Sam Hewitt – 7
21 Leroy Cudjoe (C) – 8
Substitutes
15 Matty English – 7
18 Seb Ikahihifo – 6
25 Fenton Rogers – 3
27 Kieran Rush – 4
Tries: Halsall (4), Hewitt (12), Marsters (48)
Goals: Connor 4/4
Sinbin: Lolohea (23) – high tackle, Rogers (51) – high tackle
Castleford Tigers
34 Tex Hoy – 7
23 Jason Qareqare – 7
35 Corey Hall – 5
28 Will Tate – 5
5 Innes Senior – 5
16 Rowan Milnes – 4
7 Jacob Miller – 4
20 Muizz Mustapha – 4
14 Liam Horne – 8
32 Daniel Hindmarsh – 4
12 Alex Mellor – 6
11 Elie El-Zakhem – 5
13 Joe Westerman (C) – 6
Substitutes
8 Liam Watts – 6
21 Sylvester Namo – 5
25 Brad Martin – 4
29 George Hill – 5
Tries: Qareqare (59, 68)
Goals: Milnes 2/2