Castleford Tigers players likened to under-10s as Danny McGuire blasts desire

The Tigers scored two late tries but were second best from the moment Herman Ese'ese brushed aside several would-be tacklers to score from close range.

McGuire viewed the 10th-minute try as an indictment of Castleford's mentality.

"Ese'ese is a big man but I played against some big men and they don't score that easy," said McGuire following the 24-14 defeat at Wheldon Road.

"It looks like he's a man against under 10s or something. It's just crazy.

"It was exactly the same last week (against Catalans Dragons). For the life of me I can't understand how he can just do that and not be stopped. There's not enough desperation for me, there's not enough resilience.

"I thought we were poor for the majority of the game. We found a bit of energy at the back end, which is disappointing because I wanted that energy from minute one, and I think it's a bit of a cop-out when you find it after 75 minutes.

"It sends a poor message that they (Hull) were comfortable and then we managed to find some energy. We are just not prepared to do the tough stuff at the minute."

McGuire showed his ruthless side by hooking Rowan Milnes and Josh Hodson for performance reasons.

The former Great Britain international hopes those examples serve as a warning to the rest of his squad.

"Rowan was tactical," he said. "I didn't think he played great. I thought he was poor.

"He's just come back from injury so I probably need to give him a little bit of leeway.

"Rowan is a great player and a great person but I don't think he was at it tonight.

"We've got to have accountability and people wanting to play well to keep hold of the shirt.

"It's a precious shirt and you're in a privileged position to play for Castleford Tigers. I just don't feel our players are showing that enough.

"They do care and are trying – but it's got to be a bit more than that."

Hull head coach John Cartwright expressed his relief after passing another test a week out from a Challenge Cup quarter-final derby against Hull KR.

"I was a bit worried coming into the game,” said Cartwright, whose side now sit second in Super League.

"We just had a few hiccups from the last game with some injuries and have got an enormous game coming up next weekend.

"We were hoping that we could turn up here and do a job then worry about next week, next week. I think we did that to a fair degree."