Stone believes defeat was undeserved

MJ Black

Huddersfield head coach Rick Stone believes his team didn’t get what they deserved after being defeated 26-21 by Castleford on Thursday.

Jake Mamo’s hat-trick gave the Giants an 18-12 lead at half-time, but Danny Brough’s late sin-binning for a “cannonball” tackle handed the Tigers the opportunity to seal victory.

“Generally in footy you get what you deserve, but I don’t think we got what we deserved tonight,” said Stone.

“We had a couple of big calls go against us that were the difference in the game. The effort and the way we controlled the game was pretty good for most of the time.

“I’ll have to look at the Danny Brough sin-binning, but that was a big call in the heat of the game. There’s a few things I’ll take up with the referees’ department.

“But I’m happy with the effort and how we had a crack. I feel we did enough to earn two competition points which are valuable to us at the moment. We just need a bit of luck.”

Mamo’s treble took his tally to six for the Giants since switching from the NRL and Stone admitted he was pleased with the impact he’s made.

“I always knew Jake was going to be okay for us – he came a bit injured and I was disappointed it’s taken while to get on the park and contribute, but I always had faith,” added Stone.

“He’s a good little competitor and bobs up at the right places and could have scored four or five if play went the right way for him.

“If he was in the Premier League, he’d be called a goal sneak. He knows where to be, his anticipation is terrific.”