Challenge Cup: York Knights advance but Castleford Tigers and Hull FC crash out
Castleford Tigers coach Ryan Carr criticised the officiating after seeing a number of big decisions go against his side in the 32-8 Challenge Cup defeat by St Helens.
With no video referee available at the last-16 stage, Carr was left to bemoan an number of calls he felt went against his side in the heavy home defeat.
“We don’t have a video referee tonight right? You take that away and it just goes into…I won’t say ‘a debacle’, but I will because I truly believe that.
"I will get held accountable for my job and the players will too, 100 per cent. Yet, we can’t have things going like that.”
On the field, Saints looked to be coasting into the last eight after building a 16-0 half-time lead but Jason Qareqare’s response and a yellow card for Kyle Feldt caused some anxious moments for Paul Rowley’s men.
Saints started in style with Daryl Clark barging over from dummy half and Lewis Murphy getting on the end of Tristan Sailor’s pass, with two Jackson Hastings kicks putting them 12-0 up with eight minutes gone before Mark Percival went over for Saints’ third.
Qareqare’s effort early in the second half – with Feldt penalised for a tackle in the build-up, gave Castleford hope.
But tries from, Lewis Murphy, Agnatius Paasi and Feldt, sandwiched a second for the hosts from Ashton Golding, with Hastings finishing with three conversions and a penalty.
First half tries from Innes Senior and Lachlan Lam proved enough for 2023 winners Leigh to move into the quarter-finals 16-6 at Hull FC’s expense.
Despite the tight scoreline – which was cut by an effort on the half-hour mark from Cade Cust, converted by Zak Hardaker – the Leopards richly deserved their win. Adam Cook kicked two penalties either side of the interval to extend the home side’s lead to inflict a fourth straight defeat on the Airlie Birds.
Liam Harris helped himself to 18 points as York Knights cruised into the Challenge Cup quarter-finals with a 56-10 win over Championship side Keighley at the LNER Community Stadium.
Harris (inset) stole in from close range to get his side off the mark in the 10th minute and added his second on the hour mark as well as kicking five conversions.
King Vuniyayawa also scored two tries with further efforts from Sam Wood, Denive Balmforth, Josh Griffin, Ben Jones-Bishop, Ata Hingano and Nikau Williams, in the Knights’ impressive 10-try show.
York head coach Mark Applegarth had made his intentions plain by naming a strong line-up as he looked to maintain momentum after a promising start to their inaugural Super League campaign.
Vuniyayawa, Wood and Balmforth all joined Harris in crossing in a fine first-half display and Griffin added his side’s fifth shortly after the interval.
But Keighley were far from disgraced and finally got on the scoreboard five minutes into the second half when Brad Holroyd dived in at the corner.
George Flanagan grabbed an impressive second try for the Cougars after 66 minutes when he charged out of dummy half and pushed through three York defenders to score, with Izaac Farrell’s conversion taking the visitors to double figures.
By then Jones-Bishop and a second from Harris had already made the result a formality, and further efforts from Hingano, Vuniyayawa and Williams wrapped up an emphatic win.
Ewan Irwin summoned a perfect kicking performance and Lachlan Webster scored a try on his debut as a youthful Warrington side thumped Goole 78-10 to book their place in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals.
In a tie switched from Goole to the Halliwell Jones Stadium, Sam Burgess’ men proved a class apart, with Irwin converting all 13 of the hosts’ tries as well as adding one of his own to take his personal haul to 30 points.
Goole had their moments, with Cooper Howlett scoring two tries, including an eighth-minute effort that briefly tied the match at 6-6 following Jack Miller’s successful conversion.