Lee Radford will insist that the fact his first victory as the Castleford coach has come against the side who unceremoniously sacked him live on television two years ago means very little, but there is no doubting he will have raised a smile at full time here. His Tigers side had laboured their way through the opening three games of the season with no success so a win of any kind, against any side, would have sufficed here.
However, there is no doubting this will have meant more to Radford given it was against Hull FC. A Greg Eden hat-trick in the winger’s first appearance of the season leaves Wakefield and Toulouse as Super League’s only sides still without a win in 2022. The hosts led from as early as the opening seconds when Hull fumbled the kick-off and allowed Daniel Smith to score.
Timed at just under 10 seconds, it was almost the fastest try in Super League history, and it set the tone for a frustrating afternoon for the visitors. They staged a late rally in the second half but to their credit Castleford held firm and closed the game out. “I’d have preferred to do it in round one, but the manner of that result was important,” Radford said.
Ian Watson insisted he gained no extra satisfaction from beating former club Salford despite a six-try 34-2 stroll to secure Huddersfield's third Super League win of the new campaign.
The wing Innes Senior scored two second-half tries and the young talent Will Pryce touched down and landed five goals as Giants shrugged off last week's reverse at Wigan. The Australian forward Chris McQueen scored his fifth try in four games and Jermaine McGillvary and Chris Hill also crossed.
Salford conceded 34 unanswered points after Marc Sneyd kicked them in front with an early penalty.
"Last year I was quite beat up losing the games [against Salford]," said Watson of the team he took to the 2019 Grand Final. "It wounded me because you always want to go up against your old club and win as well.
"I didn't want to feel like that again but mentally I am in a different place. Last year it was fresh, I had just left Salford. I am happy we won but it is more the manner in which we have won." (PA Media)
Smith’s try and two goals from Gareth O’Brien put Castleford into an early 8-0 lead and while Danny Houghton and Josh Griffin replied for Hull, further Tigers tries courtesy of Eden and Cheyse Blair gave the hosts a six-point lead at the break. “We turned up thinking we’d carry on what we did last week,” Hull’s coach, Brett Hodgson, lamented.
That lead was extended shortly after half-time when O’Brien cut through on the angle, before quick handling sent Eden across for his second. Hull hit back through Adam Swift but the back-and-forth nature of the game continued when Eden scored his third in scintillating fashion, racing away down the left before withstanding the attention of Jake Connor to touch down in the corner.
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There was still time for Connor to lay on tries for Connor Wynne and Jamie Shaul to reduce the deficit to just one score. However, any hope the 2,500 Hull fans may have had was extinguished when O’Brien’s drop goal pushed the lead back out to two scores and ensured that at the fourth attempt, Radford could finally celebrate a win.
