Daryl Powell’s Castleford Tigers will take on his future side Warrington Wolves in the Challenge Cup semi-finals after they beat last year’s finalists 19-18 in an enthralling cup tie.
Major Talking Points:
1. Gritty Cas overcome sin bins
When Cas were down to 11 men it all could’ve gone very wrong for the Tigers. Space started opening up and it was very likely that Salford could’ve snatched the game as they started opening up gap after gap. However, the Tigers hung in there with some of the best cover defence you’ll see this season. Yes, they did allow Salford to take the game to golden point but it could’ve been much worse and they had enough in the tank to power to victory in extra time.
2. Fine margins
It was certainly a game of very fine margins and on another day Salford might have won. There were a number of kicks that were centimetres away from being 40/20s, plenty of try saving tackles and of course the game was decided by just one point. It’s been a weekend of magnificent cup ties and this was one of the most exciting.
3. Man of steel, man of the moment
He came up with big moment after big moment to win Cas the game. The reigning Man of Steel was brilliant in defence and attack throughout. We’ve talked about how close the game was and he was certainly the difference especially as his charge down led to the winning point.
Player Ratings:
Castleford Tigers
1 Niall Evalds – 7
2 Derrell Olpherts – 7
3 Peter Mata’utia – 7
4 Michael Shenton – 7
25 Jordan Turner – 6
6 Jake Trueman – 7
7 Danny Richardson – 6
14 Nathan Massey – 6
9 Paul McShane – 9
15 George Griffin – 6
10 Grant Millington – 7
11 Oliver Holmes – 7
13 Adam Milner – 7
Substitutes
8 Liam Watts – 8
22 Daniel Smith – 8
28 Brad Martin – 7
31 Gareth O’Brien – 7
Salford Red Devils
23 Dan Sarginson – 7
2 Ken Sio – 7
3 Kallum Watkins – 7
20 Harvey Livett – 7
22 Rhys Williams – 6
6 Tui Lolohea – 8
7 Kevin Brown – 7
8 Lee Mossop – 7
14 Danny Addy – 6
10 Seb Ikahihifo – 7
12 Pauli Pauli – 8
21 James Greenwood – 6
13 Elijah Taylor – 6
Substitutes
11 Ryan Lannon – 6
16 Greg Burke – 6
18 Chris Atkin – 7
25 Jack Ormondroyd – 6
