Salford Red Devils 14-6 Castleford Tigers: Highlights, Player Ratings and Talking Points

It’s back to back wins for Salford Red Devils in a scrappy game against Castleford Tigers who are still on two wins to start the season as Andy Last hopes to nail down the job.

Highlights:

Castleford’s fast start
The Tigers needed a quick start against the fancied Red Devils and after a penalty from a Marc Sneyd high tackle, a lovely offload from Kenny Edwards created the opportunity for Greg Eden to finish in the corner.

Salford’s missed chances
Salford had the majority of the territory in the first half but couldn’t find a way over the try line. Brodie Croft made a lovely break but bumped into his own player. Joe Burgess dropped the line after a lovely ball wide with Niall Evalds applying pressure and Marc Sneyd was denied a try after a grubber kick after being judged to have knocked on.

Salford magic
Salford had struggled to show their brilliant attacking play but a superb jinking run from Kallum Watkins and an offload to Ryan Brierley set the fullback clear down the wing and he grubbered back inside for Brodie Croft to score.

Eden’s foot denies try
However, it looked like the Tigers were heading into halftime with the lead when Greg Eden scampered into the corner however the touch judge noticed that he had stepped on the touchline.

Castleford’s blushes saved
At the start of the second half it looked like Cas had gifted Salford a try with a stray pass on their own line but unfortunately for the Red Devils Chris Atkin was seen to have knocked on.

Evalds denied
Against his former club, Evalds thought he had his first try of the season but a full blooded tackle from Marc Sneyd meant that as Evalds went over the top he dropped the ball.

Wright place Wright time
Shane Wright has been in brilliant attacking form in 2023 and he got his fourth try of the season as he hit a strong line and powered his way over.

Brilliant Brierley
After a superb break and offload from Bureta Faraimo, Castleford looked set to cross for an equaliser as Adam Milner kicked ahead for himself and collected but Ryan Brierley came up with a sensational tackle to deny him.

Talking Points:

Errors costly
Both sides were guilty of making too many errors tonight which undercut them. In the end, Cas were the worst for it but it is something both sides need to address.

Underrated Watkins
We saw again tonight how good Kallum Watkins is with a sensational piece of skill. He should be remembered as an all time great of Super League but sometimes his quality and consistency is forgotten.

Salford missing a beat
They might have won tonight, but Salford just look like they are missing a beat at the moment especially at home. They will need to improve to make the play-offs.

Andy Last question
Tomorrow Andy Last will interview for the permanent Castleford job but a defeat tonight won’t have helped but the attitude of his Tigers who appear much harder to beat could. It will be intriguing to see what happens now.

Player Ratings:

1 Ryan Brierley – 8
2 Ken Sio – 6
28 Deon Cross – 6
24 Matt Costello – 6
5 Joe Burgess – 6
6 Brodie Croft – 7
7 Marc Sneyd – 6
16 Tyler Dupree – 8
9 Andy Ackers – 7
10 King Vuniyayawa – 6
3 Kallum Watkins – 8
12 Sam Stone – 7
13 Oliver Partington – 7
Substitutes
8 Jack Ormondroyd – 6
14 Chris Atkin – 7
15 Danny Addy – 6
17 Shane Wright – 8

Castleford Tigers
1 Niall Evalds – 8
5 Bureta Faraimo – 7
17 Jack Broadbent – 7
3 Jordan Turner – 6
2 Greg Eden – 7
6 Gareth Widdop – 6
7 Jacob Miller – 6
14 Nathan Massey – 6
9 Paul McShane – 6
8 George Lawler – 7
11 Kenny Edwards – 7
12 Alex Mellor – 7
16 Adam Milner – 7
Substitutes
15 George Griffin – 6
22 Daniel Smith – 6
28 Sam Hall – 6
38 Luis Johnson – 6