Castleford Tigers 56 - 8 Dewsbury Rams

Match report by Ossy

So now we know what it takes to make a serious bid for Super League, sobering thought ain’t it? ‘Classy Cas’ they called them back when I was a lad, so not much has changed there. It was always going to be hard; our only chance to get anything out of this game was to hold them in the early exchanges and take it from there, only 3 minutes wasn’t really long enough.

That’s the time it took for the Tigers to get on the scoreboard. A grubber kick to the posts gave McGoldrick the first try, Dixon’s conversion making the score 0-6. From the restart, a barnstorming run from winger Wainwright almost led to a second try, and The Rams knew it was going to be a long, hot afternoon. Though they had their spells on attack, they never really threatened the Tigers line in the first half.

Prop Leafa was making inroads on almost every carry, and the Tigers backs moved the ball quickly to the right, where an inside pass sent Wainwright over for his first try. Again the Rams came back, only for Franny Maloney’s long pass to be intercepted by Brough who ran some 70 yards to the line, though Austin Buchanan’s chase forced him wider than he’d have liked, and the conversion was missed.

On the 20 minute mark the Rams were cut to shreds again, Dixon going outside Andy Bostock to go in at the corner. Again the conversion was missed. Still the Rams pressed on, but this time it was a huge 40-20 kick that pinned them back in their own half. Going right again Dixon was over for his second try. Good job nobody on the Tigers side was wearing their kicking boots today; that would have been embarrassing.

More bad news, straight from the kick off, a foot injury to Ian Preece, put him out of the game, and before half time Wainwright went over again for his second try. This time they did add the extra points, courtesy of second row Westerman.

Half time :- Tigers 28 – Rams 0.

The second half was always going to be a matter of pride. The Tigers were as hot as the weather, and again the Rams were opened up all too easily. McGoldrick dummying his way over and this time it was Brough who added the goal. Three minutes later, McGoldrick opened us up again, only this time the move was finished by Saxton.

The Cas crowd were chanting ‘Easy!’ at this point, and I was finding it hard to disagree with them. Not that there was any lack of effort from the Rams, we were undone by superior skill and fitness. Around the 15 minute mark, Leafa picked up a loose ball and sent sub Barker slicing through the Rams defence from halfway. Westerman’s goal made it 46-0 with 25 minutes to go and even AK’s army went a little quiet.

Not for long though. The Rams never gave up, and a few minutes later Danny Maun went over for their first try of the afternoon. Seven minutes later they repeated the feat, Dean Lawford and Pat Walker providing the opening for Austin Buchanan to go over on the right. Maloney’s conversion attempt came back off the post, but at least the Rams had avoided being nilled.

The last words though went to Cas. First McGoldrick cut through a tiring Rams defence, and 3 minutes later, another surging run from Barker sent Knowles in under the posts. By this time Dixon had taken over the kicking duties and converted both tries to make the final score 56-8.

I don’t know what AK said to the side after the game, and I wouldn’t care to hazard a guess. I was disappointed with both the performance, and the final scoreline, but I suspect the Cas we saw yesterday would have destroyed almost any team outside Super League. The wide pitch and superior fitness both played a part in the lung sapping heat, but the Rams never gave up. Nor did the Rams fans who waited patiently for the side to come over and acknowledge their supporters. It was a privilege to stand with you yesterday guys and gals, and add something to the noise.

It must have been a soul destroying experience out there on the pitch, but Cas were quality yesterday. Bozzy and Jason still need time to get back to full fitness and Bryn Powell hopes to be back next week after his injury. Chris Hall might be a little longer, and judging by the way Ian Preece was limping after the game, he might also miss the Leigh game.

Longer term injuries include Chappy, who hopes to be playing again in about 5 weeks, and Josh Weeden who could be back in 3. The latter a pleasant surprise to me, I feared he’d be out a lot longer than that.

So yes, we learnt yesterday how far we still have to go, and a lot now depends on what we can get from the next two games. Leigh will be hard, and the Dogs up at the Mount equally so, but I’ll be looking for 4 points, and don’t care where they come from. It’s proving a strange season in NL 1 with many results defying the form book, but isn’t that the joy of the game?

Oh, and congratulations to the Academy side, who came out with a good win yesterday, also against Cas.

See you next week back on the South Stand.

Chris (Ossy)