Castleford Tigers hosted Super League’s bottom side Salford Red Devils and here are the key talking points from the match.
It was yet another heavy loss for Salford as Castleford ran in eight tries to win 48-16 with Tex Hoy bagging a hat-trick in a Man of the Match performance. The Red Devils were boosted by a Nene Macdonald brace but it wasn’t enough to overcome the huge struggles of Salford.
Salford had been boosted by the return of Ryan Brierley and Nene Macdonald but they were forced into some positional changes with Brierley playing in the halves as Ethan Ryan moved to full-back amid the return of Chris Hankinson on the wing.
Judah Rimbu missed out for the home side with his late try crowning Castleford’s 22-14 win over Salford Red Devils earlier in the season. This time around, we’ve looking at the key talking points from the game.
Castleford Tigers and Salford Red Devils talking points
Slow starts continue to kill Salford
There is plenty of off-field stuffing killing Salford at the moment but their inability stop opponents scoring early is a major issue Paul Rowley will be desperate to fix. In a game where Salford showed more than enough going forward, it was their early lapses in defence that set up their downfall.
Salford held the ball for the first four minutes but they conceded after five with Tex Hoy scoring from Castleford’s first attack. Conceding early is a familiar story with Salford having shipped points after ten, two and five minutes in their three most recent games. As a result, heads drop quickly and the onslaught follows.
Salford owners spotted
They’ve been the talk of the season with one of the big questions being ‘where are they’ but today we got an answer with the Red Devils’ owners in attendance at Wheldon Road to watch their side. It should be noted that they were reportedly also in attendance at Magic Weekend but they were the attention of the Sky Sports cameras today.
Huge questions surround what happens next after Salford City Council confirmed that they would not be dealing with them anymore in their bid to buy the stadium. It had been believed that once the stadium sale went through, the rest of the investment would come into the club but with debts piling up and the stadium deal off the table, what happens next is anyone’s guess.
Rocks and diamonds Cas man
Tex Hoy is an incredible player and an incredibly frustrating player at the same time, sometimes in equal balance though today was on the positive end of the scale. That didn’t mean he was error-free but he more than made it up for it with a hat-trick as he earned a deserved Man of the Match award.
The full-back was at the heart of everything good that Castleford did but you still felt that he was only ever a second away from an error. There would be a large consensus that he has been Castleford’s best overseas player since his arrival mid-season last year.
Can Cas kick on now?
Beating Salford isn’t unexpected at the moment but Castleford did it with far more ease than other teams have done this season and they also didn’t fold when the Red Devils scored 10 quickfire points to start the second half. The Castleford Tigers of earlier this season arguably would have folded but instead, this team put their foot down and cruised to an eight-try win.
Danny McGuire will welcome his former club to Wheldon Road next week before they travel to Warrington, who will have their eye on the Challenge Cup Final, in Round 13. By no means are they set for an easy run of fixtures but the improvements leading up to Magic Weekend were seen again and barring that blip, the Tigers look to be heading in the right direction.
Castleford Tigers XIII: Tex Hoy, Josh Simm, Zac Cini, Sam Wood, Innes Senior, Daejarn Asi, Rowan Milnes, Tom Amone, Liam Horne, George Lawler, Joe Westerman, Alex Mellor, Muizz Mustpaha
Interchanges: Sam Hall, Louis Senior, Brad Singleton, Chris Atkin
Salford Red Devils XIII: Ethan Ryan, Chris Hankinson, Esan Marsters, Jonny Vaughan, Nene Macdonald, Jayden Nikorima, Ryan Brierley, Jack Ormondroyd, George Hill, Harvey Makin, Matty Foster, Toby Warren, Joe Shorrocks
Interchanges: Sam Davis, Justin Sangare, Harvey Wilson, Tiaki Chan
Rounding off Round 11 🫡
Watch the Tigers face the Red Devils on @SkySports+ and SuperLeague+ 📺#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/jCnicuQPK9
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) May 18, 2025
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