Castleford Tigers 26 Leeds Rhinos 24: coach Andy Last delighted with Magic Weekend win

Tigers have won only three of their 15 competitive matches this season, two of those victories coming against their big city neighbours.

Saturday’s 26-24 success at the Magic Weekend in Newcastle was Andy Last’s first as head-coach and ended a seven-game losing run in all competitions.

Castleford did it the hard way, hitting back from 24-14 down deep into the final quarter, but they scored five tries to Rhinos’ four and were full value for a precious two points in their battle against relegation.

Not surprisingly, Last was “absolutely over the moon” with the result, but “relief” was his overriding emotion.

Rhinos were without seven first team regulars, including four who had featured in the golden-point loss to St Helens the previous weekend.

“It’s probably the first time this year I’ve really, really felt the pressure of needing the win,” admitted Last, who was interim-coach for this year’s previous wins over Leeds and Wakefield Trinity.

“I think when an opponent’s suffering a little bit of adversity - we’d seen they had some players missing - it felt like a significant game for us as a group, that we need to make sure we win this one.”

As at Wheldon Road in March, Leeds were two points ahead at the interval. Rhinos scored at the start of both halves and Castleford responded quickly each time, but when Leeds went 10 in front with time running out it appeared they would claims the spoils.

Last insisted: “I always had the belief that if we could get the ball into our best players’ hands, we could cause them some problems.

“We did that. I thought Joe Westerman and Liam Watts were very good through the middle and Gareth Widdop, at full-back, played his best game of the season, by some distance.”

Most pleasingly for the coach, he added: “Some of the stuff we’ve worked on in practice was there for all to see.

“Our execution was very good, we were slick on the edge and we started to nail the opportunities we created. We picked the right pass and scored some really nice tries.”

Leeds made a good start and scored after just five minutes through former Tigers winger Derrell Olpherts who had a walk-in at the corner from Blake Austin’s long pass.

Castleford, though, replied with back-to-back tries. Jacob Miller went over from a pass by Jordan Turner after he had got away from Sam Walters, then the scrum-half supplied Elliot Wallis who surged past Nene Macdonald and Ash Handley for his first Castleford try.

Widdop converted the opener and Castleford did most of the attacking after that as Leeds made a series of errors in their own territory.

Kenny Edwards was held up by Luis Roberts eight minutes before the interval and Rhinos got back in front five later when Widdop slipped trying to gather James McDonnell’s low kick and James Bentley followed up to touch down.

Rhyse Martin’s second conversion gave Leeds a 12-10 interval lead and Austin’s lovely pass sent Martin over for a converted try four minutes into the second half after successive penalties.

One the other way led to Alex Mellor going over from Widdop’s pass, though that conversion attempt hit a post.

Macdonald tackled Wallis into touch before he could get the ball down and Leeds scored moments later, on 64 minutes, when they tapped a kickable penalty and Mikolaj Oledzki smashed his way over from Bentley’s offload.

That, plus the conversion, should have sealed it, but Mellor scored his second try following an error by Roberts and then Jason Qareqare finished brilliantly from Jack Bradbent’s pass, Widdop converting both to win it.

Qareqare made his point after being recalled from a loan spell at Bradford Bulls to play at Magic Weekend.

“We all know what Jason’s about,” said Last. He is very athletic, he can finish a try and you put him into open field and he can finish from distance. What I was pleased about today was the stuff we challenged him to be better in, he was.

“He carried out of yardage and made some telling carries to get the team on the front foot and the try he scored was very good.”

Leeds Rhinos: Myler, Macdonald, Roberts, R Martin, Olpherts, Austin, Myler, Oledzki, O’Connor, Walters, McDonnell, Donaldson, Smith. Subs Johnson, Bentley, Tindall, Sangare.

Castleford Tigers: Widdop, Qareqare, Mellor, Turner, Wallis, Broadbent, Miller, Watts, McShane, Matagi, Edwards, Lawler, Westerman. Subs B Martin, Mustapha, Hall, Griffin.

Referee: Ben Thaler (Wakefield).