Huddersfield Giants ended their time in Huddersfield with a thumping win as their opponents Castleford Tigers slumped even further in a dismal performance.
The Giants played the final 45 minutes with just 12 men after Fenton Rogers red card but they still managed to score 30 more points as they won 48-16 in a dominant performance that was characterised by both their own class and Casleford’s own ineptitude.
It means the Giants finish in 12th and Castleford 13th but it signals a far bigger changing of the tides with one side firmly on the up and the other on the slide.
Departing stars Taane Milne and Jacob Gagai both bagged braces, with Tristan Powell, Connor Wrench, Zac Woolford and Lewis Jagger also scoring. For Cas, Liam Hood, Daejarn Asi and Jordan Lane crossed over.
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Huddersfield Giants and Castleford Tigers talking points
Giants a dark horse for 2027?
This was surely said at times in 2025 because the facts are that Huddersfield do have talented players. They’re set to lose plenty of them with Adam Clune and Jacob Gagai the obvious big losses, however, they’ve ended the season in brilliant form.
Jim Lenihan has truly transformed this side and you’d surely back Huddersfield to carry this form on because they have a clear brand and identity under Lenihan, that being to complete high, work hard, and stay in the fight.
When they come up against sides as dire as Castleford (who we will get onto) then they can put plenty of points on the board. Moving to a more compact stadium where they can genuinely generate an atmosphere, there’s no reason why the Giants can’t be dark horses for a play-off push next year.
Castleford concerns
As mentioned above, Castleford – wow! They really are just so so so low on confidence.
They were in this game and they even played the last 45 minutes with a man advantage, yet they were outscored massively after that point and it all comes down to the fact they can’t handle adversity.
Luke Robinson has admitted it in recent weeks and whilst he’s right, the solution in fixing that confidence issue is not clear. The club are still yet to appoint a head coach and several of their signings for 2027 have arrived early, meaning that trio of PLT, Tyler Dupree and Ben McNamara will already be scarred by this current form.
If Huddersfield are on the up for 2027, then it’s fair to say Castleford are going in the opposite direction and the worry for them is that there isn’t much further to go.
Rogers red card
The Huddersfield man was sent off for an incident that was initially missed on field and remarkably, he was sent this marching orders almost two minutes after he committed his offence.
Returning the kick-off after Connor Wrench’s 31st minute try, Rogers led with his elbow and caught Tyler Dupree full on with the Cas prop briefly going down before returning to his feet.
Play resumed without a penalty and the Giants would even finish their set and got to a kick, however, play stopped after a Castleford error. At that point, referee Tara Jones stopped the game as she communicated with the video ref and confirmed the news that Rogers was sent off for the incident that had happened almost two full in-game minutes ago.
In truth, it was probably the right decision but the process will surely be questioned given just how far back the video referee went, as well as the fact the incident was missed in the first place.
Goodbye to Huddersfield forever?
The Giants will make the move to Dewsbury next season but whether they ever return to Huddersfield is the big question.
The club are insistent that the plan is for them to return to Huddersfield at some point, with the aim being that they will build their own ground in the town. However, they’re set to spend £10 million on upgrading Dewsbury, which is a decision that doesn’t make much sense if they’re then needing to spend another circa £10 million to build a stadium back in Huddersfield.
Either way, the Giants fans turned out in force to farewell the Accu Stadium and the club’s time in Huddersfield. Whether they now follow across to Dewsbury for what looks a bright future on the field is to be seen.
.@Giantsrl finish their 2026 #SuperLeague campaign with a convincing win 🤩 pic.twitter.com/72WP5YKLsx
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) September 12, 2026
