Castleford Tigers boss Danny Ward provides Blake Austin and Greg Eden update after St Helens defeat

Austin has a hip issue and Eden is nursing a muscle problem following last week's crucial win over Wakefield Trinity.

The pair were missed as Castleford slumped to a heavy defeat in their penultimate home game but could return when Ward's men travel to Warrington Wolves next Saturday.

"I'm hoping so," said Ward, who confirmed that Will Tate left Wheldon Road in a protective boot after injuring his ankle.

"We've got eight days now until Warrington so we'll work hard on them in the treatment room and hopefully we can get them fixed up.

"Blake didn't quite pull up as expected from the game last week. He had a bit of an issue in his hip that wasn't quite right.

"He wasn't going to be fully fit for this week so we made that call yesterday. Hopefully he'll be OK after a week's rest.

"Greg had a bit of muscle tightness and it wasn't worth the risk. He's a dynamic player and we don't want a less than 100 per cent Greg Eden.

"Injuries are part of the game. We're not going to whinge about it – it's an opportunity for other people."

Castleford, who were without five players in all from last week, were staring down the barrel of a huge defeat after going into half-time 30-0 down but clawed back some respectability in the final 40 minutes.

Ward felt the Tigers were their own worst enemies but saw some reasons for encouragement even in a one-sided first half.

"We gave them too much ball," said Ward. "Unforced errors really hurt us.

"I told the boys at half-time that we were good defensively in a lot of patches and better than last week in a lot of areas. That might sound stupid when you're going in 30-0 down but that was the message to the boys.

"We just gifted them too much. You can't give Saints the ball and field position because they're such a good side with strike all over the park and they hurt us. They showed why they're the world champions.

"We asked the boys for some fight at half-time. We could make excuses all day long about players we'd lost or we could just roll our sleeves up and go to work. I was really pleased with how we dealt with that second half."

Castleford's points difference took a hit but the damage was limited thanks to Wakefield's 20-0 defeat at Salford Red Devils.

The Tigers remain two points clear of relegation danger with only four rounds now remaining.

"It's just one game at a time," added Ward.

"We'll get back to work on Monday with Warrington in mind next week. That's all we can focus on."