Derby Day victory for the Fords

Castleford Tigers put in a resilient and strong performance in Round 8 of the Betfred Super League at home to local rivals Wakefield Trinity.

Wakefield got us underway with a kick towards the Wheldon Road end which was safely handled by the Tigers. The first opportunity came for the Tigers as Jack Broadbent broke the line with some fantastic footwork. Quick reactions from captain Paul McShane saw him pounce and scoot over next to the sticks to open the scoring 4 minutes in.

Castleford were soon back in Trinity territory but an error from Jacob Miller gave Wakefield position of the ball. This resulted in Wakefield finding a quick play the ball, but a stray offload gave the Tigers the ball once again.

Trinity soon had a chance of their own as they gained field position through a six again call. Tigers’ winger Buereta Faraimo looked for the intercept but tipped the ball down. This enabled Wakefield to shift to the right through Morgan Smith, but the Tigers defence held out the oncoming threat.

Superb defence once again from Castleford relived the pressure as Faraimo put full back Will Dagger into touch 15m out. Wakefield continued to punish themselves as Renouf Atoni was penalised for a high shot on Jordan Turner.

Moments later in the 19th minute Joe Westerman looked to offload to hooker Paul McShane and put him over for his brace, however the Trinity defence stopped him in his tracks before the referee gave a knock on and possession to the visitors.

Castleford tried to create a threat down the left but once again a knock on by Greg Eden from a low Niall Evalds pass told the story of the first 20 minutes as the Tigers came up with another error. Trinity then punch through a hole in response to the Tigers error as Lino finds Dagger but a penalty for obstruction stops him in his tracks.

The visitors had another chance on the last as halfback Mason Lino threw a dummy which fooled the Castleford defenders. Greg Eden was there to save the day however as he forced Reece Lyne into dropping the ball.

Cas added more pressure to neighbours Wakefield as a long pass found Buereta Faraimo, a flick pass from the winger found centre Mahe Fonua whole dabbed a kick through, but the Wakefield defenders held on for another set.

The home side showed grit and determination to find their second try when opening scorer Paul McShane caught a last tackle kick and ran 50m before passing to Greg Eden who brushed off Dagger before putting the ball down in front of the railway end to double the Tigers lead with less than 10 minutes to go.

As the half time whistle came closer Wakefield continued to punish themselves by kicking the ball out on the full from the kick off. The dominant Tigers display continued as a short kick was forced to be ground by a Wakefield player. Unfortunately, Castleford couldn’t take advantage as try scorer Paul McShane lost the ball 5m short.

The first error of the second half came for Castleford 5 minutes in as a high kick from Morgan Smith was dropped by Buereta Faraimo 5 metres away from his own line. The poor start continued for Castleford when a smart kick from Mason Lino was dropped by Miller giving possession back to the visitors. This allowed them to find an opening down the left as Samisoni Langi crashed over for Wakefield’s only points.

A great 40/20 kick from Morgan Smith found touch giving Trinity another opportunity on the Tigers line. A better defensive display from the Tigers right edge forced the error allowing Castleford to rightfully retain the ball after a bombardment from Wakefield.

After soaking up the pressure a break from Greg Eden followed by a penalty put the tigers within 10m of the Wakefield line. A last tackle play from Broadbent found Faraimo who knocked the ball on stretching for the line.

A strong defensive effort from the Tigers held Wakefield out 20 minutes into the second half but a trip from Joe Westerman saw him go for a 10-minute trip to the sin bin. This didn’t stop a fired-up Tigers side though as Wakefield couldn’t find the whitewash.

Moments later a cut out pass from Lino was dropped over the line by Senior after being spilled by Faraimo. But a forward pass let the Tigers hold on and keep a dangerous Trinity out with 12 men.

Eden was in immense form down the left side, and he was rewarded for his efforts by scoring his second with 10 minutes to play. A slick play found Evalds, and a soft pass put Eden over in front of The Wheldon Road end putting the Tigers up by 12 points.

A close chance minutes later nearly put Wakefield back in the game as a Lino dummy put him through the line, but a lazy offload hit the ground and Faraimo was the first to dive on the loose ball.

Wakefield still put up a valiant effort as some off the cuff rugby league nearly resulted as a try under posts however a high shot from Jordan Turner kept Trinity to 4 points. A six again call moments later kept Wakefield in the fight until an acrobatic effort by Lee Kershaw was matched by former Wakefield player Jacob Miller who barged the winger into touch with a minute to go.

A massive effort from the Castleford players gave them plenty to celebrate as they were victorious in this weeks Rival Round 16-4 adding another 2 points for Castleford.

Castleford: Evalds, Faraimo, Fonua, Turner, Eden, Broadbent, Miller, Massey, McShane, Matagi, Griffin, Mellor, Westerman

Interchanges: Lawler, Edwards, Mustapha, Johnson

Tries: McShane, Eden x2

Goals: McShane (2/3)

Sin Bin: Westerman

Wakefield: Dagger, Kershaw, Lyne, Langi, Senior, Smith, Lino, Mason, Hood, Whitbread, Ashurst, Hewitt, Pitts

Interchanges: Crowther, Kay, Atoni, Proctor

Tries: Langi

Goals: (0/1)

Golden Gamble: 02717

Attendance: 8075