“Disappointed” and “concerned” – the first two words to come out of Ryan Carr’s mouth after Castleford Tigers suffered a huge defeat to Hull FC last night.
The Tigers yet again couldn’t back up the week prior’s efforts with another good showing, and after going to Wigan away and coming back with the two points, threw all their hard work down the drain after condeding 50 points to the Black and Whites.
Losing 50-10, it was again Krystian Mapapalangi that saved Castleford from what would have been an even more damaging evening.
The centre crossed twice, once in each half, to save the Tigers from a nilling, but the same efforts weren’t reproduced in the rest of the side, something Carr is hoping to address quickly.
Speaking in his post match press conference, those two words were what he replied with when asked to sum up the performance, with his little words a hghlight of how frstrated he was with the defeat.
Consistency has been Castleford’s major flaw this season, with the side being unable to back up any sort of good showing with another the following week.
Coming home to a healthy crowd after beating a team like Wigan should have given the team major confidence, but instead Carr saw a side who yet again didn’t have the effort to ‘do the hard stuff’ when the game got tough.
“I just said it to the players, I said I see a different person out there tonight than I did last week,” he revealed. “I’ve got to get to the bottom of it, and I will.
“Change is coming. I wish I could do it real quick to be honest with you, but I can’t.”
Asked what his side’s “worst aspect” was against FC, he replied: “I guess, just a lack of resilience when there’s adversity.
“We lost George Hirst to a head knock and then we had 10 in the bin and it just got too hard for some people.
“It’s never going to be perfect, but you’ve got to be able to win games when it’s not perfect and you’ve got to be able to take advantage when you do get the run of the game.
“But yeah, just the lack of fight in some individuals.”
Hirst’s failed HIA was Cas’ only injury concern of the evening, but George Lawler will be sweating the disciplinary verdict after his yellow card.
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“Championship level performance” – Castleford Tigers suffer 50-10 defeat to Hull FC
Asked how you go about addressing players after a defeat in such manner, Carr said there needed to be some brutally honest chats with some players who don’t seem to want to give 100%.
He said: “Unfortunately, I’m not out there. I wish I could be, but that’s the reality.
“I’m not hiding, I’m trying to sugarcoat anything at all, but it can’t [continue]. Change has to happen, because we’re doing the same thing over and over and it’s insanity expecting a different result. It’s becoming too common.”
Carr hinted that some of those players not giving 100% could be sent out on loan, saying that the efforts they are putting in suggest maybe they are not worthy of a Super League jersey.
He said: “Doing it once every couple of weeks isn’t good enough. That’s not a professional Super League level, doing it once every couple of weeks.
“That’s a Championship level. I told them that some of those performances were Championship performances, and if that continues, then that’s where those people will be.
“I’m being brutally honest, because I’m not sitting here and making excuses for our performance. It is what it is, I’ll cop it on the chin, it’s my job but change is coming. Simple.”
