CASTLEFORD TIGERS once more were defeated at The Jungle, this time by the Catalans Dragons by a 46-22 deficit.
The Tigers were down 34-6 at half-time and head coach Andy Last has admitted that he was “really, really disappointed” with how his players performed in that first forty minutes with the game effectively out of reach.
“I’m really really disappointed with the scoreline and the result but happy with how we responded at half-time to the challenge that we put to them,” Last said.
“The game is gladiatorial and there is an aspect within a game where you have to run hard, tackle hard and show desire and courage and you have to fight and scrap.
“We weren’t prepared to do that in the first-half. We wanted to play a little pretty and Catalans bent our backs instead.
“The scoreline ran away from us and we made some poor decisions with the ball, what is hurting us is making errors and then conceding.”
Last admits that he gave the Castleford players a “stern” dressing down at half-time with the Tigers down 34-6.
“It was a really stern half-time dressing down in the sheds. I told the boys that I expect a lot better in the second-half.
“I challenged them as men and what I am pleased about is that they responded and showed that they care. They played with heart and desire and managed to get themselves back into the contest in the second forty.
“We knew the scoreboard had gone but we did manage to score 18 points. We faced real adversity.”
The Castleford boss revealed that three men suffered injury blows.
“We had Niall Evalds go off with a pec injury, Gareth Widdop to an ankle, Jacob Miller with a HIA. We had Jack Broadbent at fullback, Paul McShane at 6 and Joe Westerman at 7 with George Lawler at 9.
“Niall Evalds is in a sling, we need to get that scanned. He was bitterly disappointed in there. Miller has a sore head and Widdop has jarred an ankle which he did three or four weeks ago too.”
Last also revealed that Jordan Turner pulled out this morning with sickness.
“Jordan Turner pulled out this morning due to sickness, we came out with in the second-half with a little bit of respectability.
“I think sometimes as a team and individually we get lost in the tactical and technical sometime with good ball attack, set plays and scrum plays, but there are only four for five occasions to get in those positions to execute training ground plays.
“There is 80 minutes of set for set toil and grind, you complete and they complete. We’ve got to start to enjoying that a little bit more and do it better than what we currently are doing. Hopefully the penny will drop and we embrace the grind.
“It was a new low, the manner of some of the tries we conceded and the body language when we conceded was really disappointing.
“I felt for the fans and they were really disappointed. There were things said to me and to the players out of frustration.
“There were some fans who were really happy with what we did in the second-half. They said we will support us and that’s really pleasing to hear after showing character in that second-half.”
How do Castleford get out of this mess? It’s simple for Last.
“We’ve got to get out of it by working hard. It’s a simple one but getting players to buy into is a challenge.
“We need to be getting the maximum out of what we are doing and as a group we aren’t doing that well enough. We need to defend tough and turn up for one another.
“We need to build that pressure, the ones at the top are doing it better than the ones at the bottom. We need to enjoy the process and the grind and we know we will come out the other side.”
