Huddersfield boss Luke Robinson relishes 'winning ugly' against Castleford
Tui Lolohea scored two tries and full-back George Flanagan contributed 14 points in what Robinson hopes could prove a turning point
Last updated 4th Jul 2025
Huddersfield head coach Luke Robinson relished the prospect of winning "ugly" after his side pulled away in the second half to sink Castleford 30-12 and clinch only their third Super League win of the season at The Jungle.
Tui Lolohea scored two tries and full-back George Flanagan contributed 14 points in what Robinson hopes could prove a turning point after frustrating near-misses in recent games against the likes of Wigan and Leigh.
"We've been putting good performances in in the first half of the season and not getting results," said Robinson.
"It's got to a situation where I'll take ugly wins for the rest of the season as long as they're wins. We want to start picking up the two points as well."
Robinson was pleased with the way his side staged a quick recovery from Saturday's 32-0 defeat to Catalans Dragons in Perpignan, and shrugged off a first-minute yellow card for hooker Zach Woolford.
"We lost a man in the first minute and we just seemed really calm and composed. We stuck to our guns and we were really good in that first 10 minutes," added Robinson.
"Going to Catalans on Saturday night and then here on Thursday night wasn't good at all. There was a lot of stuff the players could quite easily use as an excuse, but I thought each to a man they were all really good tonight."
Castleford head coach Danny McGuire admitted a lack of consistency cost his side once again after they failed to replicate their stirring display in last week's controversial defeat to Wigan.
Tries from George Lawler and Zac Cini helped dredge his side back level at half-time but ultimately it was an all-too-familiar story for McGuire after the break as the Tigers slid to another poor defeat.
"It was a really flat performance and we didn't really do anything we spoke about doing," said McGuire.
"I think the early sin bin didn't help us, we probably thought it was going to be easy, and I just don't think we were prepared to do some of the tough stuff.
"Some of that stuff we did last week, we thought it would just happen, but it doesn't, you have to invest again."
A trip to crisis club Salford looms next week for the Tigers, and on the face of it offers an ideal opportunity to banish the memory of their latest painful loss.
"We just can't seem to string back-to-back performances together and it's really frustrating," added McGuire. "It's one step forward and a few back every time now. I think we need to dig and analyse and make some calls on selection, and see where we are next week."