Last year's National League champions remain glued firmly to the foot of the engage Super League table following a defeat at the hands of a Bradford side who blew as hot and cold as the capricious May weather.

That Castleford were able to score five tries against one of the competition's top four teams said as much about their attacking prowess as it did Bradford's defensive frailties with the most telling statistic being the eight tries the home side conceded.

Three of those eight were scored in a telling six-minute spell just before the interval when the Tigers' only touch of the ball came in three successive kick-offs as Bradford surged into a 28-14 lead.

The Tigers were left flustered and forlorn by their failure to complete tackles and their opponents took full advantage to make up for a slow start having fallen 10-0 behind inside the opening 16 minutes.

Three more tries after the restart secured a win that was more emphatic than the final scoreline suggests, as Castleford's supporters knew all too well and they were quick to voice their disapproval by booing the players from the pitch.

Club captain Awen Guttenbeil, one of the most honest forwards on the field, was singled out for criticism by a small but vocal section of fans who also chanted 'Sack the board' in protest at the Tigers' continuing abject form.

"The fans have been disgruntled since our poor performance against Wakefield at Cardiff and though I understand where that's coming from they have to realise that we're in a very tough competition," said Castleford coach Terry Matterson.

"I know they are frustrated at the lack of wins and maybe they expect us to have a better squad, but they have to remember where we have come from."

Castleford's hard work since their miserable showing in a
54-16 defeat at the Millennium Stadium looked to have reaped dividends when they surged ahead with tries by Michael Shenton following smart work by Joe Westerman and Ryan McGoldrick, who added the second by pouncing on a low kick by Luke Dorn.

Winger Michael Wainwright also had two 'tries' disallowed, fortuitous calls which Bradford made the most of to draw level with two tries of their own.

Both came from handling errors by the hosts, the first by Scott Moore who then compounded his woes by missing the tackle that allowed Paul Sykes to score.

Ben Jeffries had a 'try' ruled out for a forward pass by David Solomona, but Terry Newton made amends by finishing off an incisive break involving Sam Burgess and Paul Deacon.

Westerman edged Castleford back in front with a try from a long pass by Dorn, but when Burgess broke through by taking a return pass from Morrison to score Bradford's third try, the game was effectively up for the Tigers.

From the restart Jamie Langley raced the ball straight back into the Castleford half to set up the position from which Glenn Morrison threw himself on a low kick by Jeffries to score before Langley strolled through in the 38th minute from Morrison's pass after a deep run by Michael Platt had stretched the home defence.

Bradford did themselves few favours following the resumption by conceding a succession of penalties which led to James Evans being sin-binned for persistent holding down and in his absence Castleford struck immediately to close the gap with a try by Wainwright, converted by Westerman.

Twelve-man Bradford rallied and added two more tries of their own before Evans returned to the fray with Platt evading Stuart Donlan to score between the posts after Ned Catic was penalised for obstruction and the hard-working Jeffries nipped in to get the touch to a low kick by Paul Deacon.

The scrum-half added the conversions to both and landed his seventh goal from eight attempts after an elusive run by Sykes had set up a try for Simon Finnigan.

A late try by Dorn proved scant consolation for the Tigers and merely served to remind Bradford coach Steve McNamara of the work his team need to do in defence if they are to put the brakes on Leeds's march on the League Leaders' Shield.

"I thought we scored some spectacular tries, we played some really good stuff, but we hurt ourselves with some 'brain explosion' on occasions," said McNamara, who has just five days in which to prepare for Friday night's visit of the defending champions.

"It was a real mixed bag, but I'm pleased to have come away with the win from a club which has taken two major scalps this season.

"We will have to improve a lot before Friday, but we're looking forward to it, not least because we have some individuals who are coming into form now."


Castleford Tigers: Donlan; Fletcher, Shenton, Dixon, Wainwright; McGoldrick, Dorn; Higgins, Moore, Huby, Guttenbeil, Catic, Westerman. Substitutes: Korkidas, Henderson, Hlad, Owen.

Bradford Bulls: Platt; Evans, Sykes, Nero, Tadulala; Jeffries, Deacon; Lynch, Newton, Burgess, Solomona, Langley, Morrison. Substitutes: Finnigan, Tupou, Harris, Kopczak.

Referee: R Laughton (Barnsley).


Big match talking points from Wheldon Road


Castleford's supporters booed the Tigers players from the field and called for the board to be sacked – what's going on there?

The fans are clearly frustrated by the way the club's season is going, but it's hard to see what they think can be gained by their response yesterday, especially their criticism of captain Awen Guttenbeil.

There are some players who are just not good enough at this level, but Guttenbeil is not one of them. Castleford are short of class, but the players they need just aren't available and it was always going to be this tough.

What it needs is a firm promise from the club's directors that the fans will get the team they deserve next season, that is if they secure a Super League licence.



Bradford's victory keeps them in fourth place, but they're still eight points behind leaders Leeds, who they meet on Friday night. Do they stand any chance of a derby win?

Of course they do, but it's clear that Bradford are going to have to improve significantly on yesterday's performance if they are going to make it third time lucky after two defeats at the hands of their biggest rivals already in 2008.

Leeds are hot at the moment and blew Wakefield away with some dazzling handling on Friday while the Bulls conceded five tries yesterday. Defensively they have a lot of work to do.



Who caught the eye for each team?

Joe Westerman was easily Castleford's stand-out player. The teenager plays the game so intelligently, it's a shame he hasn't got players of a better calibre around him to bring out his best.

Michael Platt ran strongly at full-back for Bradford against his old club, Sam Burgess and Glenn Morrison were massive figures and Jamie Langley looked to have rediscovered his old touch after all his injury problems in the last 12 months.



The Bulls lost Chris Nero early in the first half yesterday – what's the injury news?

Nero suffered a fractured collar bone and will be out for at least a month. Better news for Bradford is that prop Joe Vagana, hooker Wayne Godwin, centre Shontayne Hape and full-back or winger Dave Halley should all be fit for Friday night.