Castleford Tigers took 'massive steps forward' against Super League benchmark, insists Ryan Carr

The Tigers went down fighting against Leeds Rhinos, leaving their head coach encouraged by the improvement in defence but frustrated by the key moments that cost his side.

While Castleford ultimately fell short in a 22-4 loss, their gritty and enterprising display reinforced Carr's belief in his team.

"I felt like we were going to win the game, for sure," said Carr.

"We came here to win the game. That was our mentality and belief. We always have to have that feeling.

"We were confident in how we could play against them but we were disappointed with the two kick tries. That was a letdown for me. Even after that, a one-on-one miss let us down.

"But I thought we defended the best we have as a group since we started the journey together this year. I know the scoreboard doesn’t reflect that but I think we took a lot of massive steps forward in how we defend."

Fresh from their 10-try demolition of Hull KR in Las Vegas, Leeds were indebted to another hat-trick from red-hot winger Maika Sivo in Sunday's hard-fought derby victory.

Carr had mixed feelings after watching his team push one of the title favourites.

"They're a good team and always play well at home," he added.

"They're a high-quality outfit and are going to be in the top two or three come finals time.

"They are near enough to the benchmark, if not the benchmark, in this competition at the moment.

"There were a lot of pleasing parts of that performance – but we can't be satisfied with it. We need to be better in certain areas."