London Broncos 30 Castleford 30: We didn’t deserve point, admits Tigers’ Powell

The Tigers looked lost in the capital as they slumped 30-16 behind with 10 minutes to go at the Stoop, but somehow found a way to return north with a share of the spoils.

Nathan Massey and Justin Carney crossed the line for tries before Jamie Ellis snagged a draw with a penalty inside the last minute.

Powell is new to the job having left Featherstone Rovers to replace Ian Millward and rather than congratulating his players on their comeback, was quick to point out how much work lies ahead for them.

“We’re not the sort of team who can come up with an outstanding performance from one week to the next,” he said.

“It thought it was poor from the start to nearly the finish.

“We had some good bits in there but we’re just not tough enough. We have a really long way to go and I thought we were poor and got a point we didn’t deserve.”

Whether merited or not, Castleford got a draw – their first away point since April last year – and it may have been more had they run the penalty rather than kicking for goal.

“I didn’t think we’d earned the right to go for the win,” Powell said of the decision to take a shot at goal.

“We are delighted to have got a point but it feels like a loss. London will feel hard done by and it’s justified because we didn’t play well enough to earn that point.”

For the neutral observer London had let a winning position slip away from them – a view shared by Powell – but their coach Tony Rea did not see it that way.

The Australian, while disappointed to miss out on a fourth win of the season, was pleased to have ended the week with something.

“It’s been a real muck-in week here and we just had to get through to the end of it,” he said.

“We have had a really progressive week and I am confident there are some good times ahead for this group.

“Castleford have quality players who came up with some quality plays.”

London Broncos: Dorn, Melling, Mendeika, Channing, Robertson, Witt, Gower, Wheeldon, Fisher, Clubb, Rodney, Bailey, Cook. Substitutes: Bryant, Krasniqi, Bishay, Kaufusi.

Castleford: Tansey, Carney, Thompson, Shenton, Dixon, Chase, Ellis, Millington, Clark, Huby, Holmes, Hauraki, Massey. Substitutes: Walker, Milner, Fleming, Boyle.

Referee: B Thaler (Wakefield).