Castleford Tigers hat-trick hero salutes his supplier

GREG EDEN scored a hat-trick to get Castleford Tigers a much-needed win but the prolific winger heaped most of the praise on makeshift stand-off Paul McShane.

Eden’s treble was the highlight of the West Yorkshire club’s 38-24 win over Hull KR on Thursday – just their second victory since the end of lockdown in August.

He scored an intercept in the first half but then added two more in identical style as McShane – ordinarily Castleford’s hooker – performed a runaround with back-row Junior Moors before firing out a perfect pass to the left flank.

“Macca was awesome,” said Eden.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Junior and Shenny inside me were, too, but Macca especially with those two balls and a couple of offloads for me to get a few runaways as well.

“I thought we worked well as an edge to say Macca was out of position.

“It was a big one for me and we needed to respond after these previous weeks where we’d not been doing too well.

“I think that was a good platform for us to set for the rest of the year. I know we’re outside the plays-offs but it’s a good platform to build on into next year.”

Castleford Tigers' Greg Eden: On his way to score his side's fourth try against Hull KR at the Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens. Picture: PACastleford Tigers' Greg Eden: On his way to score his side's fourth try against Hull KR at the Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens. Picture: PA
Castleford Tigers' Greg Eden: On his way to score his side's fourth try against Hull KR at the Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens. Picture: PA
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Castleford had been in second spot when Covid shut down the sport in March but had lost eight of their nine games since it resumed before finally beating Hull KR.

Eden, who turns 30 next month, has been in and out of Daryl Powell’s side but showed all his class and will hope to back-up when they face Leeds Rhinos at Headingley on Monday.

“I felt a little bit rusty in the last 20 minutes when I was cramping up a bit but I’ve had a couple of weeks off missing,” said the former Hull KR, Huddersfield Giants and Brisbane Broncos wideman.

“I just don’t feel like we’d had any consistency as a team and myself personally with this lockdown coming in, having a little bit of an injury, then in for one week and out again.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“For these last three or four weeks, we need to try and push and find some consistency.

“It’s a bit of a quick turnaround but we’ll rest up and get ready for Leeds.”

Thursday’s game was delayed by an hour after a hold-up en route for both clubs but Tigers ended a five-game losing run.

Powell said: “That was interesting, the old three-hour journey across the M62.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It always has an impact but I thought we handled it okay. I just felt we needed to win however we did it. We’re under so much pressure. It was a good feeling; it’s been a fair while.”

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click HERE to subscribe.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.