Huddersfield 36 Castleford 10: Key figures lift Giants to inflict damaging defeat on Tigers

It would be an exaggeration to say Huddersfield Giants had been going through the motions since brushing Hull KR aside in late June but there was a noticeable drop-off in intensity during a run of four defeats in seven games.

Lulls are not uncommon in the race to Old Trafford and the Giants appear to have come through the other side of their mini-form slump, helped by the return of some key figures.

For the first time since the Challenge Cup semi-final, Huddersfield were able to field Tui Lolohea, Theo Fages, Chris Hill and Ricky Leutele in the same team and it showed in a dominant performance against Castleford Tigers.

Leutele, who was making his comeback from a knee injury sustained at Craven Park, picked up where he left off with a typically powerful display as the Giants clinched a play-off place for the first time since 2015.

Lolohea and Fages had a big say in the outcome, while Hill sets the standard in the middle.

If Huddersfield are to reach a maiden Grand Final, they will need the influential quartet to stay fit and firing.

While the Giants are eyeing a top-two finish, play-off hopefuls Castleford are looking over their shoulder after collapsing in the second half.

Ian Watson's side ran in five tries after the break to leave the Tigers relying on favours from Warrington Wolves and Catalans Dragons this weekend.

Castleford's Achilles heel in 2022 has been their form on the road with only three Super League away wins to their name as they pulled up at the John Smith's Stadium.

But there was no hint of homesickness in the early stages against a Huddersfield side that are making a habit of starting slowly.

Sam Hewitt's high tackle on Danny Richardson gave the Tigers perfect field position and they converted the opportunity into points in the third minute, former Giants full-back Greg Eden strolling over out wide with the hosts low on numbers.

But that was as good as it got for Lee Radford's side in the first half with Huddersfield going on to dominate.

Lolohea was front and centre in the opening 40 minutes, although not everything came off for the full-back.

He fired a warning shot when his smart grubber just evaded Chris McQueen and Toby King, only to miss touch the next time he put boot to ball from a penalty.

But Lolohea continued to demand the ball and laid on Huddersfield's opening try in the 18th minute.

The Tonga international sent another low kick in behind the Castleford defence and this time it fooled Richardson, with Oliver Russell on hand to touch down.

Russell added the extras to nudge the Giants ahead, an improvement on recent home outings when they left it late to hit the front against Warrington and Hull FC.

At their best, Huddersfield suffocate the opposition and starve them of field position.

There were signs the Giants were getting back to their dominant best in the way they dictated terms in the first half.

But for poor handling close to the Castleford line, Huddersfield would have extended their lead before the impressive Louis Senior finished acrobatically in the corner 28 minutes in.

Leutele underlined his value to the Giants with a classy pass and Senior did the rest.

Russell's conversion dropped just short but the hosts were in control at 10-4.

Huddersfield threatened to take the game away from the Tigers in the period before half-time, Fages guilty of forcing one pass too many after a break down the right.

Castleford failed to land any blows of their own before the interval but they caught the Giants off guard in the early stages of the second half.

Richardson was the man to drag the visitors back into it, nailing a superb 40/20 before putting ex-Huddersfield man Alex Mellor over untouched with a nice delayed pass.

The half-back added the extras to draw the Tigers level but before they knew it they were 22-10 behind and staring down the barrel of a damaging defeat.

Huddersfield's third try was giftwrapped by Eden, the full-back dropping Fages' high kick under little pressure to give Leroy Cudjoe one of the easiest finishes of his long career.

With Castleford still rocking from the cheap concession, the Giants landed a decisive blow when Fages sent King clear down the right and the centre gave Lolohea a clear run to the line.

It quickly unravelled for the Tigers as Huddersfield flexed their muscles.

Leutele touched down Russell's perfectly weighted kick to mark his return with a try and Senior went 75 metres after Castleford overchased the restart.

The Giants were not done there, McQueen crashing over from close range after a bad error from Jake Mamo.

Huddersfield Giants: Lolohea, Cudjoe, King, Leutele, L.Senior, Russell, Fages, Wilson, Levi, Hill, Hewitt, McQueen, Yates.

Substitutes: English, Greenwood, O'Brien, Mason.

Castleford Tigers: Edens, Olpherts, Fonua, Sutcliffe, Faraimo, O'Brien, Richardson, Westerman, McShane, Lawler, Blair, Mellor, Edwards.

Substitutes: Smith, Martin, Mamo, Turner.

Referee: Jack Smith.