Lee Radford has no complaints as Castleford Tigers are beaten at Salford Red Devils

Winger Joe Burgess scored a hat-trick of tries – his first for the club – as Salford powered to victory over a Castleford side which had won four of their last five games.

The Tigers looked as if they may mount a second-half fightback with Balami Qareqare scoring two fine tries – but their hopes faded when they lost Adam Milner to the sin-bin for dissent in the closing stages.

Radford said: “I thought the scoreline was a true reflection of the game. Salford showed more steel than us defensively and we were not at it.

“I didn’t feel we were ever bang at it tonight – we didn’t have the wind in our sails ever in the game. What we got tonight we deserved.

“We knew where their threats were going to come from but stopping them is another matter. We finished seventh last year and we are sat in sixth. There’s a reason you’re mid-table.

“I think we have got to narrow that gap – there is a host of reasons players perform like that. We have to try and fix that. We are trying to strive for consistency and that’s the challenge for us as a team and a club.

“I thought Salford’s defence did a real good job on our edges. This week’s challenge wasn’t a physical one it was a mental one and we failed that.”