Castleford Tigers have shown remarkable resilience in the face of adversity, securing a hard-fought victory over Hull FC at the MKM Stadium to claim only their third Super League away win of the season.
Despite being plagued by coaching problems, with boss Ryan Carr absent for personal reasons, Castleford put their troubles aside to emerge triumphant. The team’s new assistant boss, Luke Robinson, is set to take training on Monday after cutting short his holiday.
The match saw Castleford score tries through Renouf Atoni, Mikaele Ravalawa, and Liam Hood, with Tom Weaver adding the extras. Hull, on the other hand, scored through Joe Batchelor, Harvey Barron, and Lewis Martin, but ultimately fell short.
Castleford’s victory was a testament to their professionalism, as they scored from their first attack after nine minutes when Atoni crashed over from close range. The team then added a second try on 26 minutes, with Ravalawa powering over in the right-hand corner.
Hull were denied a score when Barron’s 90-yard run was ruled out for a late tackle by Batchelor. Castleford then stretched their lead to 12-0 with a penalty from Weaver before Hull finally hit back four minutes before the interval.
The home side continued their comeback in the 47th minute, with Barron collecting a kick from Jake Arthur to cut Castleford’s lead to just two points. However, Castleford showed immense credit by fighting back, with hooker Hood burrowing his way over the line in the 68th minute to restore their lead.
Castleford director of rugby Chris Chester praised his team’s toughness and resilience, saying: “I thought we were the best side. We showed some real toughness, some real resilience and some real fight, which is probably what we’ve been lacking these last few weeks.”
Hull FC interim coach Andy Last, on the other hand, expressed disappointment with the result and performance, stating: “Yeah, a disappointing result, a disappointing performance. We can find a reasonable level for periods in games, like we did against St Helens. Tonight, we didn’t start particularly well.”
The win sees Castleford move up to ninth in the table, four points clear of Hull in 12th. Despite their coaching issues, the team has shown that they have the fight and determination to succeed in the Super League.
