CASTLEFORD TIGERS 20 WIGAN WARRIORS 26
CALLUM WALKER, Mend-A-Hose Jungle, Saturday
WIGAN survived an almighty scare to pip Castleford in a heartbreaking – and perhaps unjust – defeat for the Tigers.
Danny McGuire’s men were brilliant for large parts, led by the imperious George Hill and Tom Amone whilst Daejarn Asi had his best game in a Castleford shirt.
But the Warriors are champions for a reason, and up popped Jai Field after being kept quiet for 78 minutes, to deliver the killer blow in the final stages.
Tigers boss Danny McGuire dropped Rowan Milnes for Chris Atkin in the halves, whilst Will Tate made his first appearance of the season with Innes Senior making way. Joe Stimson also debuted off the bench.
Meanwhile, Jack Farrimond replaced the injured Bevan French for Wigan as Liam Marshall dropped out with Jacob Douglas his replacement.
It was Castleford that started the brighter as well, Asi floating a superb pass over the top for the returning Tate to gather and cross. Atkin couldn’t convert as the Tigers led 4-0 after 16 minutes.
It was an almost instant response from the reigning champions, though, with Field finding Zach Eckersley on the wing before the latter returned to the favour for his fullback to stride through. Adam Keighran made it 6-4 to Wigan.
Points were at a premium in the first half, so as the Warriors lined up a scrum move with a minute to go, fans could sense something was happening. And, charging on to a Harry Smith pass, Keighran powered through a soft tackle to run home from 30 metres. The Wigan centre converted for a 12-4 lead at half-time.
The Tigers started the second half in the brightest possible fashion, with Asi’s kick-off bouncing dead. From that, Asi showed an outrageous dummy to waltz straight through, and Atkin reduced the deficit to two at 12-10.
In the build-up to that try, Alex Mellor was hit off the ball and Keighran was lucky not to see yellow.
It mattered little, however, when Tate intercepted and ran 60 metres to set up the position for Sam Wood to reach for the whitewash. Atkin converted beautifully from out wide for a 16-12 lead.
A period of parity ensued with the hour in sight but it looked like the hosts were about to strike again when Asi put up a delicate kick. Cini chased but he lost possession forward with Hill being denied a deserved four-pointer.
Wigan survived and they somehow retained their captain’s challenge when Josh Simm was held back by Smith as he chased a loose ball after the visitors challenged a knock-on.
In a cruel twist of fate, the Warriors shifted the ball right and Eckersley stepped in off his wing to dot down. Keighran added the extras to take Matt Peet’s men 18-16 up with eleven minutes remaining.
The Warriors lost their own captain’s challenge with Castleford steamrolling their way upfield and it was Tate that supplied a great finish to retake the lead once more.
Atkin missed the conversion with seven minutes to go, crucially so as Wigan reclaimed the restart and Keighran levelled proceedings with a penalty after Farrimond was caught high.
Despite being quiet for 78 minutes, Field supplied the winning moment in the dying embers, breaking from halfway and sending over Liam Farrell for the winning score. Keighran converted to claim a 26-20 victory.
GAMESTAR: George Hill was brilliant for Castleford, tackling everything that moved and supplying impetus from dummy-half.
GAMEBREAKER: Jai Field’s break and pass to Liam Farrell ended the game.
HIGHLIGHT REEL: Daejarn Asi selling a sublime dummy and waltzing straight through the Wigan defence.
ALBERT GOLDTHORPE POINTS
3 pts George Hill (Castleford)
2 pts Daejarn Asi (Castleford)
1 pt Tom Amone (Castleford)
MATCHFACTS
TIGERS
3 Zac Cini
24 Josh Simm
22 Louis Senior
4 Sam Wood
25 Will Tate
6 Daejarn Asi
42 Chris Atkin
38 Brad Singleton
9 Liam Horne
41 Tom Amone
10 George Lawler
12 Alex Mellor
13 Joe Westerman
Subs (all used)
15 George Griffin
19 Sam Hall
26 George Hill
43 Joe Stimson (D)
18th man (not used)
35 Dan Okoro
Also in 21-man squad
5 Innes Senior
7 Rowan Milnes
23 Fletcher Rooney
Tries: Tate (16, 73), Asi (43), Wood (49)
Goals: Atkin 2/4
WARRIORS
1 Jai Field
22 Zach Eckersley
3 Adam Keighran
4 Jake Wardle
26 Jacob Douglas
24 Jack Farrimond
7 Harry Smith
16 Liam Byrne
9 Brad O’Neill
10 Luke Thompson
11 Junior Nsemba
12 Liam Farrell
13 Kaide Ellis
Subs (all used)
8 Ethan Havard
15 Patrick Mago
17 Kruise Leeming
19 Tyler Dupree
18th man (not used)
20 Harvie Hill
Also in 21-man squad
5 Liam Marshall
23 Tom Forber
38 Christian Wade
Tries: Field (18), Keighran (39), Eckersley (69), Farrell (78)
Goals: Keighran 5/5
SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 4-6, 4-12; 10-12, 16-12, 16-18, 20-18, 20-20, 20-26
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Tigers: George Hill; Warriors: Liam Farrell
Penalty count: 5-3
Half-time: 4-12
Referee: Tom Grant
Attendance: 6,052