Castleford Tigers 28 Wakefield Trinity 26: Tigers cling on as Cory Aston shines on debut

CASTLEFORD Tigers continued their remarkable winning run against Wakefield Trinity, stretching it to a dozen consecutive matches, but rarely have they ever had to work as hard for a success.
Castleford's Greg Minikin celebrates his try with Cory Aston and James Clare. Picture Jonathan GawthorpeCastleford's Greg Minikin celebrates his try with Cory Aston and James Clare. Picture Jonathan Gawthorpe
Castleford's Greg Minikin celebrates his try with Cory Aston and James Clare. Picture Jonathan Gawthorpe

Daryl Powell’s side were 22-0 up after just 24 minutes and seemingly cruising.

However, no side can ever rule this gutsy Wakefield team out, even when they are bereft of so much stellar talent injured on the sidelines.

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The visitors rallied superbly and, with Castleford having themselves lost forwards Jesse Sene-Lefao and Oli Holmes to first-half injuries, understandably found some holes in their opponents’ tiring pack.

During a prolific spell, they managed to get back to 28-26 with four tries in 22 minutes to leave the majority of Wheldon Road, let alone the jaded Castleford players, nervously hanging on.

When Cory Aston, the Super League debutant, had a kick charged down at the death, it almost ended in disaster for the half-back, who has had to wait fully 30 months to play at this level following his initial move from Sheffield Eagles to Leeds Rhinos in 2016.

Ben Jones-Bishop looked certain to score in the corner but Peter Mata’utia – the Tigers full-back who had missed two earlier penalty kicks – got ahead to rescue his side and help claim the Adam Watene Trophy.

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Earlier, Aston, who joined Castleford in December 2017 but struggled to work his way into Powell’s plans, had scored a debut try with his proud dad – Eagles coach Mark – sat in the stands.

The 24-year-old dived jubilantly between the posts but will be quick to pay credit to his forwards for assistance.

Liam Watts, the Castleford prop who outplayed Wakefield’s man-of-the-moment Dave Fifita, slipped a lovely pass for Daniel Smith to surge through, the fellow prop doing wonderfully to stay up long enough for Aston to support.

Mata’utia’s conversion took it to 22-0 and it was always likely to be hard for Wakefield – who saw Mason Caton-Brown score twice on his ‘second debut’ for the club – to achieve a fourth straight win.

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They lost three players to injury in last week’s win over champions Wigan Warriors, including both half-backs Jacob Miller, their captain, and Danny Brough.

That meant Ben Reynolds, who signed from Leigh Centurions in the winter but started his career at Castleford, came in for his Trinity debut.

He fared well, scoring a try himself and almost helped his side to an unlikely win but had spent the early part of the game playing behind a beaten pack.

Watts was superb yet again, looking every inch a Great Britain prop-in-waiting, and getting the better of Man of Steel leader Fifita on a number of occasions.

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However, he was well-supported by the likes of Mike McMeeken, Smith and the ever-reliable Nathan Massey who all had to dig in.

Castleford lost prop Sene-Lefao, who was taken to hospital with a suspected dislocated shoulder in the act of scoring his 16th-minute try, hitting Watts’s fine disguised pass.

They also saw England second-row Holmes limp off with a knee problem before half-time so it was perhaps no surprise that Wakefield, renowned for their fighting spirit, created tension with that thrilling fightback.

Castleford looked comfortable, winger James Clare having also scored twice.

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But Caton-Brown, who had been playing sevens rugby union in Japan before answering Chester’s SOS, scored his first before the break and, even after Greg Minikin crossed early in the second period, home fans must have felt safe.

How wrong they were. Trinity gathered themselves and responded in style, scoring four tries in 22 minutes.

Caton-Brown got his second from Ryan Hampshire’s lofted kick and, though Mata’utia finally struck a penalty – the decisive one – Wakefield powered on with scores from former Castleford centre Joe Arundel (also injured in the process), Reynolds and Tini Arona after Greg Eden spilled Reynolds’s kick in the 70th minute.

Then came the pressure, Pauli Pauli and Fifita getting their second wind, but Castleford held on and head to Perpignan on Easter Monday while Wakefield, similarly busted, prepare for Leeds.

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Castleford Tigers: Mata’utia; Clare, Minikin, Shenton, Eden; Trueman, Aston; Watts, Milner, Sene-Lefao, Holmes, McMeeken, Massey. Substitutes: Moors, Clark, O’Neill, Smith.

Wakefield Trinity: Jowitt; Jones-Bishop, Lyne, Arundel, Caton-Brown; Reynolds, Hampshire; Fifita, Wood, Arona, Ashurst, Kirmond, Crowther. Substitutes: Pauli, Kopczak, King, Hirst.

Referee: Chris Kendall (Huddersfield).