Huddersfield Giants 20-18 Castleford Tigers: Alex Mellor's hat-trick inspires hosts' victory
By Press Association Sport
Last Updated: 12/04/19 12:36pm
Alex Mellor grabbed a hat-trick of tries as Huddersfield claimed their fourth Betfred Super League win of the season with a thrilling 20-18 home triumph over third-placed Castleford Tigers.
The in-form forward scored once in the first half and twice in the second in a West Yorkshire derby in which the lead changed hands no less than six times.
The first half proved to be the tightest of affairs, with the Tigers holding a narrow 8-6 interval advantage.
Both teams crossed for one converted try each, while video referee Robert Hicks ruled out potential scores for Huddersfield's Lee Gaskell and Jermaine McGillvary and Castleford's Mike McMeeken.
The difference at the break proved to be a 21st-minute penalty from half-back Peter Mata'utia as the visitors made it clear they were prepared to grind the contest out.
However, it looked as if it might be a different story early on as former Giants winger Greg Eden easily intercepted a loose pass from Kruise Leeming to stroll in from halfway after just two minutes. Mata'utia added the extras.
Castleford's initial enthusiasm was somewhat dampened though by the immediate loss of prop Grant Millington to injury. Millington took a knock in the first contact of the match and left the field shortly after.
By the 13th minute the hosts had drawn level when Gaskell glided through the opposition defence and fed the supporting Mellor. Darnell McIntosh made no mistake with the straight-forward conversion.
With both teams having the chance to add to their try-scoring tally in the second quarter, the game hung tantalisingly in the balance at the start of the next period.
But, within a minute of the restart the Giants - and Mellor - struck for a second time when Leeming and Matt Frawley combined to put the second-rower over from close range. With McIntosh converting, that put his side ahead for the first time.
It proved to be short-lived as just five minutes later, and seconds after the Giants had been placed on a team warning for conceding several quick-fire penalties, Matt Cook crashed over. His powerful score came from a tap with Mata'utia nudging his side back ahead with the conversion.
All of a sudden, the tightest of tussles was opening up and smart play from Frawley paved the way for McIntosh to bang over a 52nd-minute penalty goal. That levelled the score yet again before the full-back landed his fourth goal of the night six minutes later.
Strong Tigers defence then denied Joe Wardle and Akuila Uate, and their rear-guard efforts were rewarded when Mata'utia slotted over a 40m penalty to make it 16-16 with 16 minutes remaining.
The Castleford full-back followed up with his fifth two-pointer just minutes later as the cat-and-mouse nature continued.
The evening's pattern of events kept going in the 69th minute as McIntosh and McGillvary worked in tandem to hand Mellor his treble, although this time the conversion failed, poising the encounter at 20-18.
On Huddersfield's next attack Gaskell was denied a try for a second time by video referee Hicks and that kept Castleford in the contest.
In a nail-biting finale, the Tigers twice forced their hosts to drop-out from under their own posts, while steadfast goal-line defence somehow prevented Adam Milner from crossing. The hooker's frustration at missing out boiled over handing him a spell in the sin-bin as a result.
