Wakefield went down 18-12 at home to Castleford, but what were the three major talking points and how did the players rate?
1. The amount of injuries being suffered is harrowing
Everyone knows that injuries are a part and parcel of rugby league, but almost every Super League side seems to be going through some kind of injury crisis. Bill Tupou was carried off on a stretcher for Wakefield after Gareth O’Brien hobbled off the field with what looked like serious problems for both players. Why is this happening?
2. Peter Mata’utia had an absolute stormer
The utility back will be a Warrington player next year, but he showed his commitment to the Tigers cause, playing the best game he has possible ever had in a Castleford shirt. The centre scored once and caused the Wakefield left-edge defence all sorts of problems.
3. Castleford needed that win
They hadn’t won in three Super League games and were steadily drifting towards the bottom end of the table. However, a 15th win in a row against their bigger-city rivals was just the tonic the Tigers needed to claw themselves out of a rotten run of league form.
Wakefield Trinity
1 Max Jowitt – 6
27 Lee Kershaw – 6
4 Reece Lyne – 7
3 Bill Tupou – 7
2 Tom Johnstone – 6
6 Jacob Miller – 8
7 Mason Lino – 8
12 Kelepi Tanginoa – 7
25 Brad Walker – 7
10 Tinirau Arona – 7
14 Jay Pitts – 7
11 Matty Ashurst – 8
13 Joe Westerman – 8
Substitutes
8 David Fifita – 7
9 Kyle Wood – 6
15 Eddie Battye – 5
20 Joe Arundel – 5
Castleford Tigers
1 Niall Evalds – 7
2 Derrell Olpherts – 6
3 Peter Mata’utia – 9
4 Michael Shenton – 7
25 Jordan Turner – 8
31 Gareth O’Brien – 6
7 Danny Richardson – 7
15 George Griffin – 6
9 Paul McShane – 9
24 Suaia Matagi – 8
11 Oliver Holmes – 7
21 Jesse Sene-Lefao – 7
14 Nathan Massey – 7
Substitutes:
8 Liam Watts – 7
17 Alex Foster – 7
22 Daniel Smith – 7
33 Jason Qareqare – 7
