Former Giant Eden gets Tigers roaring
FORMER Huddersfield Giants full back Greg Eden impressed with a hat trick of tries as Castleford Tigers claimed the inaugural HarrisonBryan Trophy with a convincing 42-10 Boxing Day victory over Hull FC at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle.
A mix of debutants, returning players and youngsters filled the Tigers’ ranks, and each played their part in what turned out to be a display of dominance from the impressive Tigers.
Zak Hardaker grabbed the sponsor’s man-of-the-match accolade and Eden marked his return to Castleford with a tremendous treble.
The Tigers were the brighter of the two sides and they were the first to make it on the score sheet.
Eden earned a repeat set on the Hull line and Castleford made the most of their opportunity.
A smart, delayed ball from Rangi Chase gifted Mike McMeeken four points and Paul McShane nailed the conversion.
The home side added to their lead after 17 minutes as returning skipper Michael Shenton found Hardaker and the debutant went over for his first try in Castleford colours.
The Tigers exploited the left edge once more as Greg Minikin went over for a four-pointer, making it two tries in quick succession.
The visitors began to enter the arm wrestle as they found themselves trailing by three scores, but were still unable to mount a real threat to the Tigers’ line.
Hull could only force the Tigers to attack from deep, and they were happy to oblige.
On his second debut for the club, Eden finished under the posts after a fantastic Jake Webster break.
The dominance didn’t stop there, with Minikin snagging his brace to bring the first half to an end.
The Tigers continued showing off their attacking prowess in the second period, although Hull stiffened up their defensive efforts in reply.
It took a little while for Castleford to force their next breakthrough, but once it came, the floodgates well and truly opened at the Jungle.
Two more from Eden, including a memorable full-length of the field effort, saw him complete his hat trick, and debut tries for hooker Luke Million and Tuoyo Egodo followed.
Batley Bulldogs notched a 28-18 win over Dewsbury Rams to retain the Roy Powell Trophy.
The victory gave new Bulldogs coach Matt Diskin a winning start to his reign at the Fox’s Biscuits Stadium, but they slipped behind when Toby Adamson went over the line and Paul Sykes added the goal to put the Rams in front.
Batley cut the lead with a try from Shaun Ainscough, but Dewsbury turned around in front as they led 12-4 after Gareth Potts scored in corner and Sykes added the goal.
Batley changed the game with three tries early in the second half as Dominic Brambani, Wayne Rettie and Joe Chandler crossed the line with Patch Walker adding two goals.
Walker was on target again after Shaun Squires went over, but the Rams gained some consolation when Donald Kudangirama scored a try and Sykes added the goal.