“We could have thrown the towel in and let it get away from us massively”: Castleford Tigers boss Leed Radford after loss to Leeds Rhinos

Tigers hit back from 6-0 behind to lead 10-6 at half-time, but went 34-10 down before 10 late points made the scoreline more respectable.

It was their first defeat at Newcastle’s St James’ Park and ended a three-game winning run in Betfred Super League.

“In the first half, I thought our effort and execution was outstanding,” said Radford.

“The indicators were there it was going to be a game of field position and unfortunately, in the second half we came out and there was a period where they had nine sets and we had one.

“We got dominated in that area. Most teams in the competition, when you have that amount of field position and possession against you, you don’t look as juicy as when you are fresh and good to go.”

But Radford was pleased with the way Tigers stuck to their guns and ended the game strongly.

“What I did like was the finish,” he added.

“We didn’t quit, we cracked on.”

Rhinos ran in five tries from the 45th minute to the 68th and Radford admitted his team “looked really legsy during that period”.

He noted: “The ruck speed got away from us.

“That is disappointing, but the first half was really positive and the last 15.

“We could have thrown the towel in and let it get away from us massively.

“To bring it back to 14 points, I thought was a fair crack.

“When you don’t have possession or territory, you tend to lose.

“What we have got to improve on is a period within that; somebody has got to break its back and unfortunately that didn’t happen.”