Castleford Tigers boss Ryan Carr has offered his assessment after his side defeated table-toppers Leeds Rhinos in one of the games of the season.
The Tigers won 36-34 against their local rivals, with Castleford ending a run of three successive home defeats to Leeds, which stretches back to 2023.
Jason Qareqare crossed twice in the win, with Daejarn Asi, Jack Ashworth, Mikaele Ravalawa and Ashton Golding also dotting down.
Commenting on the game as a whole, Carr said: “It was unreal. It’s a big win for us. If anyone knew what we’ve been through, there’s been a lot that’s gone down through the week, during the game, a lot of adversity.
“To fight through it, and to find a way to win a game against the best team in the comp, they’ve been the best team in the comp all year, they’re a really good team.
“…We just won that on effort today, really. That was probably what I’d put it down to.”
Louis Senior pulled out of selection late into the week. That forced Alex Mellor to move into the centres, and Jack Brown into the back row. Ashton Golding also played in the back row, highlighting the difficulties the boss had to deal with in the build-up.
After being 16 points down in the first half and 14 down in the second, Castleford looked to be out of the game twice, and their determination was what brought them back into the contest.
The Tigers have been criticised for how they have handled adversity this season, but today shows that they can come out of the other side of it on multiple occasions – their task now is to do it more consistently.
He said: “You look at that start, it was a bad start. We didn’t touch the ball for 10 minutes, had some tries against the run of play, a charge-down try, and then we could have gone one of two ways.
“Earlier in the year, we’d have probably went that way, and this time we chose to go the tough path and work our way back into it, and that’s what pleases me most.”
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Castleford Tigers boss reveals injury latest after Leeds Rhinos win
Carr has revealed that Liam Hood’s ankle is “busted”, but his spirit and willingness to fight for the cause was what kept him going for the full game.
Krystian Mapapalangi was given until game day to prove his fitness, but was not selected by the boss, who revealed the decision was made earlier in the week.
“We sort of knew in our main session,” Carr confirmed. “He’s still been struggling with it, but we’ve got on top of it now. We know what it is and we’re well on the way to fixing that up.
“We’ve got a short turnaround, Friday night at Wakey, so we’re confident we can get him back, same with Laney [Jordan Lane].”
Joe Westerman was another man named in the 21 but didn’t feature. Carr revealed that he is firmly in contention, and could also feature next week against Wakefield.
