Published: 2nd August 2018
REPORT: Giants 14 – 22 Castleford
A prosperous U19s team were defeated on Sunday afternoon after producing a disappointing performance at Huddersfield YMCA, resulting in Castleford Tigers taking the win.
The Giants had a strong first 20 minutes pinning Castleford into their own half, which in turn put them on the back foot from the start of the game. However, the tables quickly turned with Castleford Tigers maximising the mistakes of the Giants U19’s Women’s team.
Discussing the first half of the game, Head Coach Steve Stead commented: “We looked really strong, we wanted to have a good solid first 20 minutes and we managed to do that. We could have had 5 – 6 tries in the first half, we had overlaps but didn’t execute them and made mistakes. Castleford scored off of our mistakes, which isn’t really acceptable.”
6-8 down at half time, Castleford Tigers had taken advantage of Giants mistakes to go in front. The Giants came back at the beginning of the second half with a try from Izzy Northrop but the Castleford side quickly came back and regained the lead.
Disappointed with the end result, Head Coach Stead commented: “We had the opportunity to rectify the two point difference in the second half of the game but our errors cost us. Back to training this week, we need to correct our errors and work on game play and keeping hold of the ball. We lost the ball too many times, and we need to focus on our fundamental skills. It’s clear we just need to understand the game a bit more but we’re getting much better at set plays. We know we can’t afford to do this at this level. There were, however, positives to take away from the game, our defence was good in parts by keeping Castleford in their own half, but we didn’t convert our chances and that, unfortunately, was the story of the whole game.”
Reflecting on the team’s performance as a whole, Stead commented: “I’m really happy with both of the girls on debut. Izzy Northrop scored two tries. Izzy comes from Union and hasn’t played many leagues, but we were really impressed, especially with her attitude and her willingness to go forward. Chloe Bennett Gallagher was also impressive and got held up over the line twice. She ran really well and also had a strong debut. It was also good to have Erin O’Grady back, she brings a lot to the team. We just need to get back to training and come back stronger for the next game.”
The Giants U19’s will next face Leeds Rhino’s at home on Wednesday 22nd August.
Final score: 14-22
