Castleford 30 Warrington 40: Powell left proud in defeat as Wolves fight back

After their shock Challenge Cup semi-final defeat against Hull, Warrington found themselves facing another loss after falling 24-6 down in the first half, but they showed their class by bouncing back to turn the game round after the interval.

Three tries in six minutes early in the second period put the Wolves in front and although battling Castleford levelled at 30-30 with 15 minutes remaining, late scores by Mick Higham – his second of the game – and Joel Monaghan gave Wolves the win.

Stefan Ratchford chipped in with six goals in a win that kept Warrington one point behind leaders Huddersfield with four league games left.

Michael Channing, on loan from London Broncos, made his Castleford debut at centre in place of Richard Owen while prop Ryan Boyle returned for the Tigers after a one-match suspension and forwards Keith Mason and Charlie Martin were recalled on the bench.

Oliver Holmes and Jonathan Walker were both missing with knee injuries.

Warrington were without injured trio Mike Cooper, Brett Hodgson and Michael Monaghan from the side that lost to Hull.

Richie Myler returned at scrum-half while Brad Dwyer and James Laithwaite came in on the bench.

Castleford’s Adam Milner forced his way over from a scrum 10 metres out after just two minutes but referee Robert Hicks ruled out the effort for a scrum infringement and awarded Warrington a penalty.

The Wolves did well to survive further Tigers pressure after full-back Ratchford fumbled Jamie Ellis’s high kick and Monaghan knocked on as he caught Weller Hauraki’s kick.

Against the run of play, Warrington went ahead from their first meaningful attack when Lee Briers caught the home defence flat-footed by darting over from close range for a 13th-minute try that Ratchford converted.

The Tigers quickly turned the game on its head by scoring four tries in 11 minutes.

They levelled in the 20th minute with a superbly-worked try when slick handling by Hauraki, Grant Millington and Ellis put in Justin Carney at the corner.

Castleford then took the lead when Ratchford collected Ellis’s high kick but lost the ball as he was tackled and Hauraki scooped it up to score.

Boyle’s magnificent off-load then created the opening for Jordan Tansey to send in Milner before the Wolves fell further behind when Rangi Chase fooled their defence to set up a touchdown for Kirk Dixon.

Dixon added his fourth conversion to put the Tigers 24-6 up.

Warrington saw little of the ball in the first half but they got themselves back into game when substitute Garreth Carvell scored from close range and Ratchford converted to cut the gap to 12 points.

Chase was wide with a drop goal attempt on the stroke of half-time but the Tigers were full value for their 12-point lead at the break after cutting Warrington’s defence to ribbons during that stunning first-half scoring burst.

The Wolves looked far more determined in the second period and soon levelled the scores.

Substitute Dwyer plunged over from close range before Briers made the opening for half-back partner Myler to cross.

Warrington then regained their lead with their third try in six minutes when Higham shot over from acting half and Ratchford added his fifth goal to put them 30-24 ahead.

Castleford squared matters again in the 65th minute when Craig Huby capitalised on Daryl Clark’s grubber kick to grab a try that Dixon goaled.

But Wolves struck a vital blow three minutes later when Myler put in Higham for his second try and they sealed victory when Monaghan went in at the corner.

Tigers coach Daryl Powell was proud of his players’ efforts.

“I thought our boys worked exceptionally hard and for large parts we were the better team,” he said.

“The game flipped a little bit at half-time for a number of reasons and it took us a while to get back into it in the second half.

“We got back into it at to level at 30-30 but next set we gave a 50/50 pass that went wrong and those are the little 50/50s we are getting wrong at the moment and that is what is hurting us.

“Having said that I thought we conceded some soft tries on our own try line in the middle of the field and that was probably the defining factor.”

Powell was disappointed with the try Warrington’s Garreth Carvell scored shortly before half-time when the Tigers were 24-6 up.

“We had defended well on our edges to keep them out and it was a soft try to concede,” he said.

“The first try Warrington scored was ridiculous as well. We’ve got to be better than that.

“In the second half we had a period when we conceded a lot of penalties. I’d question some of them – there are a couple of calls there that are pretty tough on the team.”

Coach Tony Smith was delighted with Warrington’s resilience.

“Hang on to the ball and you’ll score tries was what I told the players at half-time. Whichever side hung onto it scored,” said Smith. “The weight of possession against us in the first half was just enormous. Castleford are a terrific attacking side and we didn’t have our fair share of ball in the first half. I was quite pleased we were within 12 points of them at half-time.

“We were a bit flat early in the week for a few days in training after our Challenge Cup defeat. Today was about character for us and I thought we showed bucket loads of it.

“The momentum was fully on Castleford’s side in the first half and to wrestle that back into our favour took some character.

“I am really pleased and proud of our players the way they hung in there.

“It wasn’t my half-time talk – the players knew what they needed to do and they did it in the second half really well.”

Castleford: Tansey, Dixon, Shenton, Channing, Carney, Chase, Ellis, Boyle, Milner, Huby, Millington, Hauraki, Massey. Substitutes: Clark, Fleming, Martin, Mason.

Warrington: Ratchford, C. Riley, Grix, C. Bridge, J. Monaghan, Briers, Myler, Wood, Higham, Hill, Waterhouse, Westwood, Harrison. Substitutes: Morley, Carvell, Dwyer, Laithwaite.

Referee: R Hicks (Oldham).