Huddersfield’s Ricky Leutele hits hat-trick to seal thriller against Castleford

Huddersfield extended their promising start to the season with a fourth win in five games after withstanding a remarkable second-half comeback from Castleford Tigers. Ian Watson’s side appeared set for a comfortable afternoon’s work at half-time , leading 18-0 against a Tigers side offering very little offensively and even less in the way of hope for their travelling supporters. However, Castleford took full advantage of a 10-minute period when Huddersfield’s Danny Levi was in the sin bin, scoring twice through Jake Trueman and Mahe Fonua.

With that momentum behind them, they rallied to level when Greg Eden cut through shortly after another Huddersfield yellow card, this time to Jermaine McGillvary, before taking the lead when Eden’s searing break was finished by Trueman. However, the Giants recomposed themselves in the final quarter with a hat-trick of tries from the centre Ricky Leutele, which turned the contest on its head again and ensured the Giants emeged victorious in a thrilling contest.

Such a dramatic finale seemed unlikely at half-time, when Huddersfield were in complete control of proceedings. Owen Trout broke the deadlock for the hosts after he crashed over the line, before Chris McQueen’s clever offload laid the platform for Luke Yates to make it 12-0. A penalty from the boot of Will Pryce extended that lead further, before fine handling led to McGillvary crossing in the corner for their third of the afternoon.

Few would have expected the fightback that followed from Castleford, who produced a devastating spell of play to turn an 18-0 deficit into a 24-18 lead. But Leutele’s hat-trick proved their undoing and consigned Lee Radford’s side to a fourth defeat in fifth games. But while Huddersfield were made to