Castleford Tigers moved top of the Betfred Super League after coming from behind to beat Hull KR at KCOM Craven Park. Jack Walker reviews Thursday night’s game.
MATCH TIMELINE
| Minute | Scoring Play | Score |
| 4th | Try Ben Crooks (Hull KR) | Hull KR 4-0 |
| 7th | Goal Ryan Brierley (Hull KR) | Hull KR 6-0 |
| 35th | Try Michael Shenton (Castleford Tigers) | Hull KR 6-4 |
| 36th | Goal Danny Richardson (Castleford Tigers) | Tie 6-6 |
| 40th | Goal Ryan Brierley (Hull KR) | Hull KR 8-6 |
| 42nd | Goal Danny Richardson (Castleford Tigers) | Tie 8-8 |
| 49th | Try Danny Richardson (Castleford Tigers) | Castleford 8-12 |
| 50th | Goal Danny Richardson (Castleford Tigers) | Castleford 8-14 |
| 55th | Try James Clare (Castleford Tigers) | Castleford 8-18 |
| 55th | Goal Danny Richardson (Castleford Tigers) | Castleford 8-20 |
| 57th | Goal Danny Richardson (Castleford Tigers) | Castleford 8-22 |
| 74th | Try Mike McMeeken (Castleford Tigers) | Castleford 8-26 |
| 75th | Goal Danny Richardson (Castleford Tigers) | Castleford 8-28 |
MATCH SUMMARY
Danny Richardson scored sixteen points as Castleford Tigers overturned a half-time deficit to beat Hull Kingston Rovers 8-28 and move top of the table.
The Tigers, who startedย Thursdayย evening level on points with Huddersfield and Wigan, scored 22 unanswered points as they battled to beat a dogged Rovers defence.
The Robins started the better side and got their reward through Ben Crooks’ early score before Ryan Brierley’s goal put them 8-6 ahead, following Michael Shenton’s reply for the visitors.
But Brierley went from hero to zero as Castleford took control after the KR man was sin-binned.
Danny Richardson James Clare both crossed, with the latter producing a wonderful acrobatic finish in the corner.
And the game was sewn up courtesy of Mike McMeeken. The forward, who missed two guilt-edged chances earlier in the game, scored late on to ensure that Cas recorded back-to-back victories.
Danny Richardson’s solo 16-point haul proved too much for Hull KR, who have now lost all four games after their opening weekend win over Wakefield and will be joint-bottom of the table if Toronto win their match in the game week.
Castleford are now two points ahead of Huddersfield Giants and Wigan Warriors, having played two games more than the Giants and one more than Wigan.
GAME HIGHLIGHT
RYAN BRIERLEY’S SIN BIN
Just like last week, Castleford’s game was on a knife edge for a large part up until an opposition player saw yellow. Yes, the Tigers were on top and you fancied them to go on and win the game anyway, but Brierley’s temporary leave from the pitch with the second half barely underway gave them the boost they perhaps needed. They can’t rely on this to happen on a weekly basis for the rest of the season, but boy are Cas clinical with a man advantage.
THE RESULT
Hull Kingston Rovers 8
Tries: Crooks
Goals: Brierley (2)
Drop Goals: n/a
Castleford Tigers 28
Tries: Shenton, Richardson, Clare, McMeeken
Goals:ย Richardson (6)
Drop Goals: n/a
SQUADS
Hull Kingston Rovers:ย Dagger, Minikin, Kenny-Dowall, Linnett, Crooks, Keyes, Brierley, Murray, Litten, W. Maher, Gee, Storton, Hadley.
Interchanges: Garbutt, Trout, Harrison, Minchella.
Castleford Tigers: Rankin, Olpherts, Mata’utia, Shenton, Clare, Trueman, Richardson, Watts, McShane, Griffin, Holmes, McMeeken, Massey.
Interchanges: Millington, Milner, Blair, Smith.
Referee: Chris Kendall (RFL).
