'We were rubbish': Castleford Tigers accused of falling in love with themselves after Magic Weekend reality check

The Tigers claimed only their second win of the year in their previous game against Huddersfield Giants, a result that appeared to represent another step forward following an encouraging display at Wakefield over Easter. However, Castleford were distinctly second best in Sunday's St James' Park rematch with their local rivals.

McGuire cut a frustrated figure after watching his team slump to a 32-8 defeat.

"I thought we were rubbish," said the Tigers head coach.

"I'm really disappointed. I thought we were beaten to every punch. I think every department that we look at in our game to try to win, we were beaten comprehensively.

"That's tough, it's hard to take. I thought they just wanted it more. They were up for the physical battle and I’m not sure we were, and that's tough to take.

"We have tactics and technical things that we want to try and implement but if you don’t want to play tough, you can’t do that. We weren’t prepared to get dirty and got what we deserved."

Castleford remain cut adrift at the bottom of Super League alongside fellow strugglers Huddersfield and Salford Red Devils following an eighth defeat in 10 games.

The result in Newcastle checked the Tigers' recent momentum, leaving McGuire to question their mental approach.

"I thought that we were turning the corner and were in a good position but maybe we have fallen in love with ourselves a little bit, just thinking it was going to happen," he added.

"You've got to go and do it – and we weren’t prepared to go and do the tough stuff. You get what you deserve and we deserved nothing because the commitment, the desperation and the desire wasn’t there."

Powell, who turned up the heat pre-match by declaring Castleford "strong favourites", watched his Trinity side ruthlessly expose any signs of complacency.

The Wakefield boss had expressed concern about taking on a reinforced Tigers outfit with an undermanned pack but those fears proved unfounded as his side delivered one of their most complete displays of the season.

"I thought it was an outstanding performance and a pretty total performance,” said Powell.

"Some of the things we’ve spoken about we probably haven’t executed well recently but I thought our outside backs and our pack were outstanding."

Caius Faatili was particularly influential for Trinity, scoring a scintillating 70-metre try that defied his status as a front-rower.

The 23-year-old, who joined Wakefield from Queensland Cup side Sunshine Coast Falcons in January, crossed twice in the six-try romp to continue his rapid rise at the top level.

"I think Caius has been growing since he came," said Powell, whose side face former club Warrington Wolves after the break for the Challenge Cup semi-finals.

"He has really settled in to what we’re doing and that was an outstanding effort. His overall game has been growing every week."