Castleford Tigers 22 Salford Red Devils 14: Justice served as Danny McGuire's side dig deep for first win

The Tigers were messed about all week by Super League's crisis club Salford Red Devils, to the point that the game was in doubt right up until the eve of the contest due to unpaid February wages.

Castleford were of the belief that Salford had a helping hand from the Rugby Football League after being granted dispensation to name a virtually full-strength side from a squad of just 17 despite the restrictions of a £1.2million limit.

Tigers owner Martin Jepson criticised the "unfair" handling of Salford’s latest salary-cap sanction in the build-up and claimed the uncertainty had cost his club money in lost ticket sales.

A spirited performance and a first win of the season would have gone a long way to easing Jepson's frustrations.

Castleford, who are low on numbers themselves amid a challenging start to the campaign, dug deep in a low-quality affair to lift the mood at Wheldon Road.

The Tigers always appeared to have the measure of a Salford side that only trained once the day before the game but needed a late try from new cult hero Judah Rimbu to get over the line.

Just as they did in round seven last year, Castleford are off the mark with a home win against the Red Devils.

Danny McGuire's side have been in the firing line in the opening month but now have a platform to build on.

The Salford saga has overshadowed the start of the 2025 Super League season and it is likely to run into next week and maybe beyond.

The Red Devils players were eventually paid on Thursday evening to ensure the game went ahead.

However, it is understood that Salford's off-field staff are still awaiting their wages, prompting club owners to seek clarification from the RFL that they did not provide the Red Devils with another central distribution advance. They have yet to receive a response.

Salford began the game like a team that had barely trained as they traded errors with their struggling hosts, who had every reason to be distracted themselves following a week of uncertainty.

Tex Hoy halted a dangerous break from Chris Hankinson before Innes Senior set off on a galloping run of his own in a frenetic opening quarter.

The travelling supporters were taunted with chants of "Where's your money gone?" from the home fans – and it soon got worse for the Red Devils.

Kallum Watkins saw yellow for a late hit on Daejarn Asi and the Tigers took advantage when Liam Horne raced on to Daniel Okoro's offload and finished next to the posts.

Salford worked their way into the game and eventually found a chink in Castleford's armour just before the break, Ryan Brierley taking Watkins' offload to score out wide.

Sneyd, who had kicked a 40/20 in the opening minutes, booted a 20/40 to set up another opportunity for the Red Devils but the Tigers held firm to go in level.

Castleford appeared to have edged back ahead in the early stages of the second half, only for Rimbu to be denied a scintillating try after the video referee spotted a knock-on in the build-up.

The Tigers were immediately under the pump after being forced to concede a drop-out but Hoy rescued the situation by finding touch and it proved to be an inspired play.

Rimbu was allowed to get out from dummy-half and found Muizz Mustapha on his shoulder who showed a clean pair of heels to dive over in front of the Wheldon Road End.

Hoy added the extras and Castleford had a two-score lead when he knocked over a penalty after Salford were caught offside.

The Tigers were never likely to do it the easy way, though, and they quickly handed the initiative back to their visitors.

Kai Morgan was given the freedom of the field to race into open space and Watkins was in support to finish.

Sneyd nailed his touchline conversion to cut the deficit to two points and crank up the tension inside the Jungle.

Sam Wood failed to ground Asi's kick and Josh Simm did likewise after slick play by Rimbu to compound Castleford's frustrations.

Sneyd shanked a 40-metre penalty in between the disallowed tries but made no mistake when he was offered another opportunity following a late hit.

The tension was palpable as Sneyd and Asi failed with drop-goal attempts but Rimbu was the coolest man in the ground, sneaking over from dummy-half to score his first Super League try and spark jubilant scenes.

A series of questionable decisions only added to the drama before Hoy settled the outcome on the hooter with the second of two penalty attempts.

Castleford Tigers: Rooney, Simm, Cini, Wood, Senior, Hoy, Asi, Okoro, Robb, Griffin, Lawler, Mellor, Hill. Substitutes: Horne, Rimbu, Mustapha, Namo.

Tries: Horne (21), Mustapha (44), Rimbu (76)

Goals: Hoy 5/6

Salford Red Devils: Brierley, Cross, Marsters, Macdonald, Hankinson, Atkin, Sneyd, Ormondroyd, Morgan, Sangare, Chan, Watkins, Hill. Substitutes: Bullock, Foster, Wilson, Wright.

Tries: Brierley (36), Watkins (53)

Goals: Sneyd 3/4

Sin bin: Watkins (18)

Referee: Chris Kendall.