Warrington Wolves and Castleford Tigers completed round
nineteen of Super League 2025 with a Sunday afternoon kick off which was a must
win game for both sides, for the Wolves to keep their hopes of a play-off
alive, and for the Tigers a chance to increase the points gap to the sides
below them to four.
The bookies were backing the visitors and gave them a ten-point
handicap on the coupon, the margin by which they defeated the Tigers when they
met seven weeks ago in round thirteen.
A Warrington win would put them level on points with Wakefield
Trinity, but well behind on points difference, and just a single point behind
Hull FC inside the coveted top six.
The sides entered the field in dreadful weather conditions of
relentless rain.
Just under seven minutes had elapsed, when, on the back of a
repeat set Sam Stone took a short ball from Ben Currie and dived in from five
metres out. Sneyd added the conversion for a 6-0 lead.
The Tigers struck back on twelve, a switch play to the right
allowing Saejarn Asi to drop the shoulder and take three defenders with him to
ground. Chris Atkin added the conversion to level the scores.
On eighteen a sliding Lachlan Fitzgibbon was unable to
collect a grubber under the sticks, George Lawler walked to the loose ball and grounded to
put the home side into the lead. Atkin found the mark again with the boot for
12-6.
Six minutes from the interval the Wolves got their second of
the afternoon when Jake Thewlis launched himself from five metres out to slide
over the line under the tackle of a couple of Tigers defenders. Sneyd was wide
with the touchline conversion attempt.
A great tackle from Matt Dufty held Zac Cini on his back on
the line with seconds of the half remaining and Cini lost the ball as he tried
to regain his feet.
Warrington were offside on their own line on fifty-eight
after they failed to deal with a high kick, Atkin kicking a simple goal to double
the lead to 14-10.
On sixty-three the Tigers again doubled their lead after
Sneyd lost the ball in the tackle for it to be picked up by Atkin who found Cini
who in turn passed to Josh Simm in support to go thirty and dive in for a
theatrical finish. Atkin added the conversion for 20-10 with fifteen minutes
remaining.
A try saving tackle from Alex Mellor on Josh Thewlis on
sixty-seven prevented a certain try, but the video referee examined the
incident and awarded a penalty for a high tackle.
Ninety seconds after the penalty Stefan Ratchford deflected
a tackler to gather and score a Williams grubber to the corner. Ewan Irwin took the kicking duties in the
absence of Sneyd, but he put the ball wide, the Wolves back within a converted
try.
Asi was wide with a twenty-metre drop goal attempt for
Castleford on seventy-four when it would have been easier to kick it. But in
the end it didn’t matter as neither side troubled the scorers in the closing
stages.
This was a hard fought, but deserved, win for the Castleford
Tigers, only their fifth of the season and a week after they suffered the
embarrassment of a loss to the Salford Red Devils last time out. It was a
crushing loss for the Wolves and a further indication of how far they have
fallen in what is turning out to be a nightmare season for Sam Burgess’s men. The top six looks like an unlikely prospect for the Wolves, finishing outside
the bottom three looks more of a possibility for the Tigers.
Castleford Tigers: Rooney, Simm (T), Cini, Senior L, Senior
I, Asi (T), Atkin (G 4/4), Amone, Lawler (T), Singleton, Simbiken, Mellor, Westerman.
Subs: Wood, Griffin, Robb, Stimson. 18th Man: Hall.
Warrington Wolves: Dufty, Thewlis Josh, Wrench, King,
Thewlis Jake (T), Williams, Sneyd (G 1/1), Yates, Powell, Vaughan, Stone (T),
Fitzgibbon, Currie. Subs: Philbin, Irwin (G 0/1), Crowther, Ratchford (T). 18th
Man: Thomas.
Half-Time: 12-10.
Full-Time: 20-14.
Score Progression: 0-4. 0-6, 4-6, 6-6, 10-6, 12-6, 12-10 :
HT: 14-10, 18-10, 20-10, 20-14 :FT.
Lead Exchanges: Warrington – Square - Castleford.
Referee: Jack Smith.
