CASTLEFORD TIGERS went down 12-7 last night to Hull KR in a feisty Super League affair.
The West Yorkshire side led 6-0 at half-time before Jacob Miller slotted over a drop goal on the hour to make it 7-6, but the Tigers let the ball bounce from the resulting kick-off and Matt Parcell dummied his way over.
For new head coach Andy Last, it was “a tale of two halves.”
“It was a tale of two halves from a performance point of view, but I was pleased with what we did in the first-half,” Last said.
“In terms of ball movement and trying to isolate Jordan Abdull and Mikey Lewis worked well for us. It generated ruck momentum, but there were a couple of unforced errors after we made breaks.
“Those moments shifted the momentum towards Hull KR. Second-half we couldn’t maintain the way we played in that first-half.”
Losing the ball from the kick-off after going 7-6 was a “coach killer” according to Last.
“We came up with the errors off the kick off and two senior players didn’t deal with it. The hard work we did getting ourselves a point ahead was ruined in 30 seconds.
“We spoke about Matt Parcell, they get a clear ruck and falls over the line. It was a real coach killer and a kick in the guts to get into the place we did.
“We created some opportunities in the last 15 minutes but our passing was just off and created a few mistakes. There was a little bit of fatigue but the best teams nail those opportunities.
“We ended up creating a few opportunities to fly down the sideline and we are not just not nailing the timing or the pass just isn’t in front. They are really fine margins and you’ve got to nail those and we didn’t.”
Niall Evalds didn’t play as Last revealed he had lost four kilograms from a bug.
“Niall unfortunately picked up a bug, the dreaded diarrhoea and sickness. He hasn’t trained all week and missed a lot of video work.
“I took the decision not to put him out due to the aerial bombardment and how much KR stretch you as a fullback.
“I didn’t feel Niall’s energy would be where it would be and he had lost 4kg so I’m glad I made the decision.”
