Huddersfield Giants veteran Leroy Cudjoe hailed as model professional after inspiring welcome win over Castleford Tigers

The 36-year-old, who has transformed himself into a forward in recent times, will play on into his 18th season with his hometown club in 2025 and celebrated his contract extension with a tireless display in Huddersfield's 20-12 win over Castleford Tigers.

"The shining light for me was Leroy Cudjoe," said interim boss Robinson, who made his Giants debut on the same day as Cudjoe in 2008.

"He's 36 years old and is playing 80 minutes in the middle. He's reinvented himself and evolved with the game.

"His new deal is significant for the club. He epitomises what you want a Huddersfield Giants player to be.

"He is ultra-committed, so professional and selfless – he puts the club above anything else.

"He coaches the scholarship, academy and reserves to try bring the next generation through.

"My message to any young lad is that if you want to emulate somebody, just go and have a look at the way he treats himself and everybody else around him. He's a model pro."

Huddersfield raced into a 12-0 lead in the final game of Magic Weekend at Elland Road and appeared to be out of sight when Esan Marsters added to the tries from Sam Halsall and Sam Hewitt.

But the Giants needed a late penalty from Jake Connor to secure just a third win since April after Jason Qareqare's double made them sweat on the result.

"Winning is habitual and so is losing," said Robinson.

"We'd been on the wrong end for quite a while so to actually get the win is great for us.

"We need to learn how to put a full 80 minutes together. Once we do that, we'll start challenging everybody we play against."

A fourth straight defeat hurts Castleford's chances of leapfrogging Huddersfield and securing a ninth-place finish.

Tigers boss Craig Lingard said: "It's disappointing and frustrating.

"It took us 65-70 minutes to get into the game and do what we talked about doing. When we did that, it worked.

"We said this game wasn't about the flashy plays or skilful execution. With where the two teams are in the table, it was about the basics and doing them with intensity, enthusiasm and aggression.

"It took us too long to get into the game."