Cas in crisis, controversial calls, injury issues, and other Salford Red Devils v Castleford Tigers talking points

Salford Red Devils hosted Castleford Tigers in the final game of Round 18 of Super League and here are the key talking points.

The Red Devils landed the upset win, beating a woeful Castleford 26-22 with George Lawler’s late try making the score closer than the performances reflected.

It marked the first game for Castleford since the shock sacking of Danny McGuire, with Director of Rugby Chris Chester taking charge of the game. He oversaw some key changes with some welcome returns for the Tigers including full-back Fletcher Rooney and second-rower Jeremiah Simbiken.

Salford also saw some key men return with Loghan Lewis making a season debut and Joe Mellor also returning, whilst Oliver Russell made his Red Devils debut after joining on loan from Wakefield Trinity.

The result means that Salford win just their second game of the Super League season with the Red Devils’ fans finally having something to cheer. As for Castleford, it’s fair to say they’re in crisis. Here are some of the key talking points from the game.

Salford Red Devils v Castleford Tigers talking points

Cas in crisis

If Castleford weren’t in crisis when losing to Huddersfield Giants, they were certainly thrust into crisis when they sacked Danny McGuire, albeit that was a decision the club made themselves.

Fast forward almost a week and they’ve now lost to a Salford team that had only won once all season and it’s now certainly a crisis at Castleford. They offered little to nothing in attack for much of the game and were cut apart at times by a side that was missing Jayden Nikorima for much of the game and fielded a rugby union convert on debut.

Martin Jepson spoke at half time to try and justify the sacking of Danny McGuire but you have to imagine that a McGuire-coached Castleford would have fared better. Jepson also confirmed that there was no rush for a head coach appointment, but based on this performance he might change his mind.

Controversial opening tries

Salford Red Devils took the lead within ten minutes when Ethan Ryan was able to coast in easily on the right wing, however, there were questions over the try.

Joe Westerman went down in the build-up and for the video referee, it was judged that he had made contact with Jack Ormondroyd but pundit Jon Wilkin disagreed, claiming that the Cas loose forward was ‘materially disadvantaged’ by the attacker’s run to Westerman’s outside shoulder.

Castleford would then see Josh Simm score almost ten minutes later after a flowing move to the right which saw Chris Atkin improvise and play the ball through his legs, however, questions would be asked if it went forward. Ultimately, both cancelled out the other.

Salford injury issues

When it rains, it pours. Salford have had plenty of problems this year and injuries have been among them and they’ve now hit back even harder. Loghan Lewis hasn’t played all season and was named on the bench today for his season debut. Unfortunately for him, that lasted just 30 seconds with the forward heading off and failing his HIA.

More blows would happen with Jayden Nikorima suffering a wrist injury when he landed awkwardly, forcing him to leave the field where he would remain as he donned a sling. Esan Marsters was another who landed awkwardly, albeit when scoring, as he suffered a dislocated shoulder. Three of Salford’s remaining overseas players now all look likely to miss upcoming games with Lewis certain to miss next week.

Rugby Union convert impresses

Salford handed another debut out as they edged close to squad number 60. Number 57 has been handed to Declan Murphy, a rugby union convert.

Subbed on when Jayden Nikorima went down injured, Murphy was shifted to full-back with Ryan Brierley in the halves alongside Oliver Russell and it’s fair to say that the former Saracens player went well.

He’s impressed recently in the reserves and will count for nought on the salary cap given his union background, making him a handy player for the cash-strapped Red Devils.

Aaron Moore returns

Moore returned to Super League action for the first time since being stood down following his error when Castleford Tigers hosted Wigan Warriors in Round 16. Moore’s decision not to penalise Harry Smith for a pull back on Josh Simm was dubbed a ‘clear error’ by head of referees Phil Bentham, leading Moore to be stood down last week.

He made his return today and it was a mixed bag. A large number of forward passes were missed, something that both Moore and the touch judges seemed very lenient on. In a game that was of such poor quality, it was hard for the referee to allow the game to flow but generally Moore went well in what was a gritty game.

Teams

Salford Red Devils XIII: Ryan Brierley; Ethan Ryan, Chris Hankinson, Esan MArsters, Nathan Connell; Jayden Nikorima, Oliver Russell; Jack Ormondroyd, Joe Mellor, Chris Hill; Dan Russell, Tom Whitehead, Joe Shorrocks

Interchanges: Harvey Wilson, Loghan Lewis, Toby Warren, Declan Murphy

Castleford Tigers XIII: Fletcher Rooney; Josh Simm, Louis Senior, Zac Cini, Sam Wood; Daejarn Asi, Chris Atkin; Joe Stimson, Cain Robb, Tom Amone; Jeremiah Simbiken, Alex Mellor, Joe Westerman

Interchanges: George Lawler, George Griffin, Sam Hall, Brad Singleton

A second #SuperLeague victory of the season for @SalfordDevils 😈 pic.twitter.com/V9dxDo8iXz

— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) July 13, 2025