Castleford Tigers took on Warrington Wolves this afternoon at the Jungle with Daryl Powell returning to his former club for the first time since departing at the end of 2021.
Tigers star Niall Evalds may have scored in the West Yorkshire club’s 23-0 half-time lead against Warrington Wolves.
But, the fullback was taken straight off down the tunnel after scoring as he looked in great pain.
The Tigers raced into an 18-0 lead after two tries from Derrell Olpherts and one from Danny Richardson, with Evalds dotting down just before half-time.
Richardson also slotted over a drop-goal to make it 23-0 as Warrington had no reply whatsoever.
Jason Qareqare – Evalds’ replacement – managed to dot down early in the second-half with Ben Currie finally getting the Wolves’ first points of the afternoon from a George Williams kick.
Matty Ashton and Daryl Clark dotted down to make it 27-16, but Alex Sutcliffe managed to restore the Tigers’ momentum.
Oliver Holmes did manage to crash over, but Richardson slotted over a penalty to end the game at 35-22 and make it a three-try score.
Highlights
Greg Eden throwing out a magical ball to Derrell Olpherts for his first try was great to see from a makeshift halfback.
Niall Evalds’ try came off the back of a brilliant Danny Richardson ball.
Talking points
1. Garden of Eden
Greg Eden made the move to the halves in Castleford’s defeat to Leeds Rhinos last week and maintained his spot for Warrington’s visit to the Jungle. But, any doubts about his position were quelled early on with two brilliant passes to winger Derrell Olpherts who was able to force his way over. The livewire also had some great defensive touches.
2. Richardson’s impression
He may have had a shocking injury at the beginning of the 2022 season, but Danny Richardson is enjoying his rugby at present and he was in full flow this afternoon. Some brilliant touches from the halfback helped the Tigers get over the line.
3. Cheyse’s hot head
It was a stupid mistake, absolutely stupid from Cheyse Blair to go with a horror shot on Warrington’s Josh Thewlis. Direct contact to the head when Castleford were leading handsomely could have cost his side dearly and it will almost certainly result in a lengthy ban.
Castleford Tigers
1 Niall Evalds – 7
2 Derrell Olpherts – 8
17 Mahe Fonua – 7
24 Cheyse Blair – 1
5 Bureta Faraimo – 6
23 Greg Eden – 7
7 Danny Richardson – 9
15 George Griffin – 6
9 Paul McShane – 9
10 George Lawler – 6
11 Kenny Edwards – 7
37 Alex Mellor – 6
13 Joe Westerman – 8
Substitutes
21 Alex Sutcliffe – 7
22 Daniel Smith – 7
25 Suaia Matagi – 7
33 Jason Qareqare – 7
Warrington Wolves
1 Stefan Ratchford – 8
22 Josh Thewlis – 6
3 Peter Mata’utia – 7
34 Jake Wardle – 7
5 Matty Ashton – 9
7 George Williams – 8
27 Riley Dean – 6
19 Robbie Mulhern – 6
9 Daryl Clark – 9
20 James Harrison – 7
11 Ben Currie – 7
35 Matty Nicholson – 6
12 Oliver Holmes – 7
Substitutes
14 Jason Clark – 7
15 Joe Bullock – 8
23 Connor Wrench – 6
33 Thomas Mikaele – 7
