DONCASTER 0 CASTLEFORD TIGERS 14
CALLUM WALKER, Eco-Power Stadium, Saturday

CASTLEFORD are into the fourth round of the Challenge Cup, but boy were they made to work hard for that privilege against a stubborn Doncaster.

The Dons had seven former Tigers in their ranks – Tom Holmes, Cory Aston, Gadwin Springer, Alex Sutcliffe, Luis Johnson, Muizz Mustapha and Tyla Hepi – and the eagerness to inflict hurt on their former side was evident throughout.

Meanwhile, Ryan Carr named nine Castleford debutants and it was one of those – Mikaele Ravalawa – that had the visiting fans on their feet instantly with a 50-metre run in the Tigers’ first set.

The Dons survived that early onslaught and they almost hit first when James Glover palmed back a Connor Robinson kick into the arms of Sutcliffe. The latter, however, was held up over the line.

Daejarn Asi was taken off for an HIA moments later but it was the visitors that broke the deadlock on 24 minutes, Joe Stimson crashing over close to the posts. Tom Weaver converted for a 6-0 lead.

There was not much to choose between both sides for most of the first half, but a late tackle on Weaver by Mustapha handed the Tigers a potential platform for a second try.

But even after Titus Gwaze had been sinbinned for a professional foul, Doncaster held firm with Castleford holding on to their slender 6-0 half-time lead.

Going forward, the Tigers had no trouble making metres with Ravalawa, Renouf Atoni, Brock Greacen and Jason Qareqare getting the visitors on the front foot with ease.

But, the final pass continued to be absent with Blake Taaffe bombing two chances for Ravalawa and then Qareqare in the opposite corners.

It was Taaffe himself, though, who burst onto a Weaver pass to double Castleford’s lead on 52 minutes. Weaver added the extras to make it 12-0.

The Dons were putting on a brave showing, and, after withstanding onslaught after onslaught, they forced their first drop-out of the game on the hour.

A stunning hit from Stimson on the rampaging Gwaze, however, ended any hopes of a Doncaster comeback, with Weaver adding another two points from the kicking tee following a late tackle on Taaffe as he chased his own kick.

Taaffe collected the resulting short kick-off with Richard Horne’s men, despite continuous endeavours, never really looking like breaching the Castleford line.

Ravalawa will have Castleford fans on their feet in 2026 and he barrelled over Glover like he wasn’t there to warm the hands of the away end at the Eco-Power Stadium late on.

To make matters worse for the Dons, Reece Lyne hobbled off for the home side as the Tigers made their Super League fitness count.

There were shoots of positivity for Carr and his side, including the performances of Ravalawa and Taaffe and particularly keeping the Dons scoreless, but a disjointed attack will need to be worked on ahead of their Super League opener against Wigan next Sunday.

GAMESTAR: Mikaele Ravalawa ran at anything in sight, creating havoc for Doncaster’s defence.

GAMEBREAKER: Tom Weaver’s penalty late on ensured Doncaster had to score three times to win.

MATCHFACTS

DONCASTER
1 Tom Holmes
5 Luke Briscoe
4 Reece Lyne
23 James Glover
18 Edene Gebbie
7 Connor Robinson
6 Cory Aston
8 Brad Knowles
9 Greg Burns
25 Gadwin Springer
12 Alex Sutcliffe
22 Luis Johnson
17 Muizz Mustapha
Subs (all used)
16 Pauli Pauli
19 Connor Jones
21 Tyla Hepi
27 Titus Gwaze

Sin bin: Gwaze (39) – professional foul

TIGERS
1 Blake Taaffe (D)
5 Mikaele Ravalawa (D)
4 Darnell McIntosh (D)
23 Krystian Mapapalangi (D)
22 Jason Qareqare
6 Daejarn Asi
7 Tom Weaver (D)
8 Renouf Atoni (D)
9 Liam Hood (D)
10 George Lawler
11 Jordan Lane (D)
12 Alex Mellor
13 Joe Stimson
Subs (all used)
14 Brock Greacen (D)
16 Joe Westerman
17 Chris Atkin
25 Sam Hall

Tries: Stimson (24), Taaffe (52)
Goals: Weaver 3/3

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6; 0-12, 0-14

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Doncaster: James Glover; Tigers: Mikaele Ravalawa

Penalty count: 8-7
Half-time: 0-6
Referee: Tom Grant
Attendance: 2,537

Image: Melanie Allatt