Rochdale 10 Castleford Tigers 72: Matterson relieved as Castleford return to winning ways in Cup

The Tigers emphatically ended a four-game winless streak with a 13-try success over their Co-operative Championship 1 rivals.

Matterson’s team had fallen behind to a Scott Yates try after 12 minutes but, while Rochdale remained willing opponents, the gulf in class was evident as the Tigers romped away to seal an away date with local rivals Wakefield in the next round.

Joe Arundel, Kirk Dixon, Steve Snitch, Nathan Massey and Daryl Clark all touched down twice while there were also scores for Rangi Chase, Adam Milner and Richard Owen.

The Tigers had been the early-season pacesetters in Super League before their recent form slump and, after fielding a near full-strength side, Matterson is hoping for a turn in fortunes.

“It was real important (to win),” he said. “We’ve lost three in a row (plus a draw with Harlequins) and we probably should have won two of those games.

“Your confidence goes down and you wonder where your next win is coming from so it’s a good win at the end of the day.

“It was a little bit scratchy to start with but I think you have to give credit to Rochdale. They put us under a lot of pressure and played some really entertaining rugby.

“Once we got into gear, and with the gulf between two divisions, it started to show. We were just too fast for them in the middle. But they had a really big dig at us and our blokes are a little bit sore.”

Matterson was pleased to come through a tough encounter unscathed while also resting key men Richard Mathers and Brett Ferres, who had been carrying calf injuries, ahead of Friday’s trip to Super League leaders Warrington.

In their absences, 19-year-old winger Greg Eden impressed on debut alongside Massey to give Matterson extra reason for cheer.

Rochdale: Yates, Bloomfield, Strong, Gorton, Saywell, Crook, Roper, Merville, Ashall, Cookson, Hobson, Bowman, Donoghue. Substitutes: Ekis, Newton, McDermott, English.

Castleford: Owen, Thompson, Arundel, Dixon, Eden, McGoldrick, Chase, Fozzard, Milner, Emmitt, Holmes, Widders, Hudson. Substitutes: Orr, Snitch, Massey, Clark.

Referee: T Alibert (France).