Tigers lose out in Wakefield.

After trading some strong hits to get the first pre-season game of 2025 underway it was a penalty against Cas for holding that resulted in the first points. Lachlan Walmsley diving over to complete the play in the corner within the first 5 minutes. 

Wakefield continued to press, particularly on the right edge, and within 10 minutes they had scored again, as Senior struggled with the overload. Cam Scott went over and Max Jowitt converted making it 10 nil to Wakefield.

Then from nowhere a pointless penalty given away for a late hit on Asi kicking from the Cas half, took the Tigers to within 20 metres of the Wakefield line and the resulting play saw Senior bring the scoreline to within 6. It was a breakthrough they might not have earned themselves, but they would take.

Unfortunately, the scoring stopped there for the Tigers in the first half. Scrappy periods of play ensued with the Tigers failing to get a foothold in the game. Refereeing decisions seemed to frustrate the Cas players, with unforced errors becoming more frequent until a knock-on penalty against Qareqare, made matters worse. Wakefield broke down the left edge and went over in the corner to take the score to 14-4. 

At 10 points down with minutes before half-time, Cas just had to see it out but it wasn’t to be, with Wakefield stealing the ball in centre field and running half the length of the pitch to give the hosts a 16 point advantage at the break. The rain came down and Cas went in behind at the break facing a half-time team talk they didn’t expect. 

The second half continued as the first half ended with Cas under pressure immediately and needing a Tex Hoy try saving tackle to stop Wakefield going over again within 3 minutes of the restart. It was like Cas couldn’t get started. A quadruple substitution after 50 minutes brought the younger, fresher legs of Robb, Windley and Rooney into the game and finally, after 15 minutes of the second half, Cas started to get some sustained pressure. It was enough to make it pay too, with Simm eyeballing the corner flag before touching down. Making it 20-8 after Asi’s conversion attempt curled against the upright.

The score sparked Cas into life. And as the conditions worsened, Cas improved. Asi, whose kicking game had been a highlight, came off with 20 left replaced by Hooley, but Cas maintained their pressure. A team of young Cas Tigers saw the game out with Rooney starring from full-back. But even their energy wasn’t enough to stop a Wakefield try 30 minutes into the second half, gifting testimonial man Gale an easy conversion in front of the posts. 26-8, soon became 32-8 as a converted try brought the 3,000 in attendance to their feet in the Neil Fox MBE stand. Not what Cas fans wanted. Or had enough time to silence.