Castleford Tigers 34 Salford City Reds 30: Orr hat-trick earns rich praise from Tigers’ Millward

The veteran was dropped to the Tigers’ bench after their quick turnaround from the Bradford game, but he was introduced midway through the first half and capped a man-of-the-match performance with a glittering treble.

The third of Orr’s tries reduced Salford’s eight-point lead late on before Craig Huby touched down in the final few minutes to seal a dramatic victory, snapping a four-game winless streak for Cas.

“You’ve got to take your hat off to Danny Orr, I thought his performance was outstanding,” Millward said.

“He was an experienced head trying to steady a ship that was finding some holes in it at times.

“I just thought it was a really calming performance by a very good pro.”

Millward, who revealed Josh Griffin will undergo surgery on his spine which will put him out for the rest of the season, also reserved special praise for Huby who was the toast of the home support after leaping to grab a high ball for the match-winning try.

“He’s really talented,” added Millward.

“I don’t want to sound like I’m waiting for some mirage to happen but I think next year he’s an England front rower.

“He can jump as good as anyone, he can pass as good anyone, he can kick as good as anyone. He’s very talented and I’m really looking forward to him developing his game over the next three years.”

In a topsy-turvy game, Castleford appeared to have thrown away their half-time advantage when Salford ran in three unanswered scores but Millward had no doubt his side were the more impressive.

“I personally believe it could have been a lot more comfortable than having to go down the last straight and having to score two tries,” he said.

The hosts started the brighter and went ahead when Nick Youngquest found the gap in the Reds’ defence to crash over.

But Salford sensed blood after Brett Ferres was shown a yellow card for slowing down a Reds restart, and their numerical advantage paid off with tries from Vinnie Anderson and Jodie Broughton.

With the numbers once again evened up, Millward turned to Orr in a move which turned the game in Castleford’s favour as tries from Orr (2) and Jordan Thompson gave the hosts a 10-point advantage.

However, Salford roared back to score two tries in as many minutes. Joel Moon touched down in the left-hand corner before Stephen Wild added another right in front of the travelling support. Marc Sneyd stayed perfect, kicking both conversions to restore the Reds’ lead.

More Castleford errors gave Salford a fresh set of six near the tryline and Sean Gleeson took advantage, collecting from Patten and Sneyd converted with seven minutes to go. But the pendulum was to swing one final time as Orr slunk through once more to score between the posts.

His own conversion brought the Tigers to within two points and the home crowd were soon off their feet for the first time in the match when Huby touched down moments later.

Another up-and-under caused problems in Salford’s defence and the hanging ball was collected by Huby right under the posts to secure a thrilling win for the hosts.

Castleford: Owen, Youngquest, Dixon, Thompson, Williams, Chase, McGoldrick, Walker, Milner, Huby, Ferres, Millington, Jones. Substitutes: Orr, Emmitt, Holmes, Massey.

Salford: Patten, Broughton, Moon, Gleeson, Williams, Sneyd, Smith, McPherson, Howarth, Sidlow, Ashurst, Anderson, Wild. Substitutes: Nero, Paleaaesina, Owen, Gledhill.

Referee: G Stokes (RFL)