Castleford Tigers 18 Warrington Wolves 48: Ryan Carr's biggest task exposed as hosts suffer another heavy defeat
Castleford Tigers' season has long since run out of road but the games keep coming.
That can be a difficult place for any team to occupy, particularly one as maddeningly unpredictable as the Tigers.
Ryan Carr's men showed enough in the opening half to suggest they have not checked out completely, only to fade badly once Warrington Wolves turned the screw.
That inconsistency was always likely to be part of the process as Carr moulds Castleford in his image – but there is no team quite like the Tigers in Super League.
A side capable of beating Wigan Warriors, St Helens and Leeds Rhinos have conceded 120 points in two games against Warrington after Saturday's drubbing brought back painful memories of their 72-6 defeat in the reverse fixture.
Since beating Leeds a fortnight ago, they have shipped a century of points, including 46 unanswered in the loss to 12-man Wakefield Trinity.
The Tigers are in something of a holding pattern, with some players heading for the exit and exciting replacements on their way. But the same flaws have followed them throughout the season: lapses in concentration, defensive fragility and an inability to sustain their best work.
Warrington provided another brutal illustration of those shortcomings. In many ways, this was Castleford's season in microcosm.
The hosts looked irresistible during a first-half purple patch but a 16-6 lead quickly faded into a heavy defeat.
The Tigers have now conceded 48 or more points on six occasions in Carr's first season at the helm.
For all the positive talk, the improvement from last year has been negligible.
Castleford, save for the odd inspired performance, remain frustratingly unreliable.
Changing that mindset is Carr's biggest task as he attempts to turn flashes of promise into something more dependable.
High-profile additions are on the way but will not arrive in time to help Castleford salvage something from this season. For now, Carr must find a way to get more from the players at his disposal after another afternoon to forget.
The early signs were not promising for a team still smarting from their derby humbling by Wakefield.
Krystian Mapapalangi had made a lively start but his incorrect play-the-ball invited Warrington in and Castleford buckled at the first hint of pressure.
Leon Hayes put Adam Holroyd through a hole and the back-rower shrugged off a poor attempt by Phoenix Laulu-Togaga'e to break the deadlock.
Castleford's soft underbelly looked set to be exposed when Daejarn Asi sent the restart out on the full but they are masters of the unexpected.
Asi quickly atoned for his error after a strong defensive set, backing up a strong burst by Jack Brown to cross out wide.
All of a sudden, the Tigers were playing with the kind of swagger that proved too much for Leeds in their last home outing.
Debutant Tylor Sharpe showed a good turn of pace to race over in the corner before Laulu-Togaga'e, who had laid on the young winger's first Super League try with a neat cut-out pass, dummied his way in to turn the game completely on its head.
But, true to form, the Tigers lost their way and quickly handed the initiative back to their visitors.
The game swung following a successful Captain's Challenge by Warrington that turned a knock-on from Joe Philbin into a penalty near halfway. From there, Castleford collapsed in familiar fashion.
Matty Ashton produced an acrobatic finish at the end of a sweeping move to the left and had a hand in the next try for Toby King, the left-edge pair exchanging passes after catching the Tigers napping on the short side.
When Toafofoa Sipley forced his way over in heavy traffic on the back of a drop-out, Castleford heads must have been spinning. They are no strangers to such situations but familiarity offered little comfort here.
Tom Weaver reduced the deficit to six points with a penalty on the stroke of half-time – and that was as close as the Tigers came to threatening Warrington's lead.
The Wolves were home and hosed within 10 minutes of the restart after taking advantage of mistakes from kicks. James Harrison accepted a gift to score a simple try before Hayes finished his own chip with the help of Laulu-Togaga'e, who like Weaver failed to deal with the initial threat.
Castleford lost Weaver to a head knock and the tries kept coming, Ashton completing his double from Cai Taylor-Wray's long pass.
Boos rang out when Asi sent another restart out on the full and the Tigers were down to 12 men after Alex Mellor was forced into a professional foul by Laulu-Togaga'e's error.
King saw yellow for a similar offence to restore numerical parity but there would be no stirring comeback on this occasion.
Ben Currie spun out of Tyler Dupree's tired tackle to complete the scoring and further underline the work required at Wheldon Road in the off-season.
Castleford Tigers: Laulu-Togaga'e, Senior, Mellor, Mapapalangi, Sharpe, Asi, Weaver, Dupree, Hood, Lawler, Lane, Brown, Stimson. Substitutes: Atoni, Ashworth, Robb, Hirst.
Tries: Asi (13), Sharpe (16), Laulu-Togaga'e (21).
Goals: Weaver 3/4.
Sin bin: Mellor (60).
Warrington Wolves: Webster, Hopoate, Smith, King, Ashton, Irwin, Hayes, Byrne, Walker, Thomas, Holroyd, Harrison, Currie. Substitutes: Taylor-Wray, Powell, Sipley, Philbin.
Tries: Holroyd (8), Ashton (26, 54), King (32), Sipley (36), Harrison (45), Hayes (49), Currie (70).
Goals: Irwin 8/8.
Sin bin: King (65).
Referee: Liam Moore.