Castleford Tigers Archived News

Bad news as far as the predictions league goes I'm afraid.

Whilst processing some new entries this evening, the spreadsheet I was using crashed and now refuses to open - Don't know why but even the backup copy that I had won't open.

With this news and the fact that I can't be bothered to re-write the spreadsheet (It took around 8 hours to design originally + around 10 minutes per entry to process) I'm afraid I have to let you know that the competition will not now take place.

Sorry for messing you about and for the time that it took you to fill in the form.

If I'd have realised earlier that the spreadsheet would get so big that it would crash, I'd have made a couple of smaller ones - Hindsight eh!!!

Anyway, sorry once again. Cheers for now Mark

The Tigers also announced their new sponsor for the season yesterday - Jungle.com - the internet computer supplier. Why not take a look at their website?

I'm contacting them as I type this to see if I can get any special deals for users of this site, mind you, I don't hold out much hope!!! :-)

Not bad eh? The TIGERS in the JUNGLE!!! :-)

Castleford 14 Wakefield 14

Don't know a lot about the game so please read the match report!!! :-)

I've just seen the squad for the Boxing Day game against the Wildcats on the official site and as far as I can see, it's the usual junior/reserve side with 1 or 2 exceptions.

I don't know about you, but to be tempted to go and watch the match on Boxing day, they'll have to put on a better team than this???

The match is meaningless.

The PREDICTIONS LEAGUE is now up and running. Please visit the page and fill in the form - You never know, you may even win!!!

For further details, see the entry below and read the rules on the actual predictions page.

There will be something running on this site shortly which should get you all excited!!!

I am starting a predictions league for the coming season and am currently designing the form and spreadsheet I will use to calculate the scores - Basically you will have to say which team you think will win EVERY Superleague game and also have to predict league positions, challenge cup details etc.

You will be able to play this for fun but I will also be offering an option where you can send me Ł1 and the winner of the competition will get all the cash that people have paid - You can trust me with your money, honest :-)

Hopefully, I will get loads of entries as I will be advertising the competition on newsgroups, other websites etc.

Stay tuned for more details - Cheers for now - Mark

I've now stopped the voting on whether the site is better or worse than last year - Up until a couple of days ago there was a clear lead of votes that said the site was better. Since then, a couple of people have been sending in NO votes one after the other for no apparent reason.

It's a shame that a few people have to try and spoil it for others - You know who you are!!! - GROW UP - I don't mind genuine NO votes but why try and spoil it???

Ok, that's me off my high horse now!!! We've signed another player - See below :-)

Cas have signed Australian Andrew Purcell from Hull Sharks where he played 28 times for them last season - He's a half back.

The Tigers have now filled their overseas quota for next season.

The Tigers will announce a new MAJOR sponsor on Boxing day at the game v the Wildcats. We will also be having some new shirts (both home and away) for the new season.

BJ Mather won't be with the Tigers for all the season - Not only is he starting the season late with the tigers, he will be missing the end of the season and the playoffs because of his Union commitments.

Now I not one to normally doubt the judgment of Stuart Raper BUT, to me it looks as though BJ is messing us about. I'm not going to question his commitment BUT, surely we need players who will be playing throughout the season and not when the feeling takes them??? What do you think ??

The poll is going well with the vast majority of you preferring the new look site :-) Thanks for letting me know - I'll keep the vote up for another week or so before announcing the final results.

Okay everyone, here it is, the new site - I've put a hell of a lot of work into it so I hope that you all think it's been worthwhile :-)

Please take the time to check out EVERYTHING on the site - even if a section existed last season, it will have changed for this one.

Also, can you let me know of any dead links or pictures etc not working - There shouldn't be any as I've tested it rigorously but you can never be 100% sure!!!

Oh yeah, most of all, let me know what you think :-) Thanks - Mark

Cas have released Tongan, James Pickering. This now gives us 1 overseas place to fill should the right player turn up - come on Stuart, lets have a good one!!!

Stuart Raper has gone home for Christmas but it is highly likely that he will be checking out possible Tiger talent instead of just eating turkey. He still wants to sign a couple of players before next season.

Graham Steadman will be in charge for the Wakefield and Leeds games over Christmas

Cas have still to decide whether to re-sign Brad Hepi - Raper is currently undecided as to whether he wants him in the squad or not - He is still looking to strengthen the team in other areas.

Cas have finally re-signed Lee Harland on a 1 year contract.

26 year old Harland has become a regular 1st teamer since signing from Halifax in 1995 and made the England squad at the end of the season.

The Tigers have released forwards Andy Hill and Spencer Hargrave and both have signed up with premiership club York.

Jack Fulton now has over 50% of the clubs shares following an extraordinary general meeting called by local businessman, Stephen Hines. Hines called for a vote of no-confidence before the meeting but then strangely sold his shares in the club to Fulton???

Raper is happy with the outcome and said that the club have always supported him and had given him the tools to do the job.

Here are next seasons Superleague fixtures : We have got Leeds, Wakefield and London twice at home and are away at Bradford, Hudds-Sheff and Halifax twice
Sunday, 5 March   Castleford           v. Wigan
Sunday, 19 March   Salford              v. Castleford 
Sunday, 2 April    Castleford           v. London
Sunday, 9 April   Bradford             v. Castleford
Sunday, 16 April   Castleford           v. Hull
Friday, 21 April   Wakefield            v. Castleford
Monday, 24 April    Castleford           v. Leeds 
Monday, 1 May   Halifax              v. Castleford
Sunday, 7 May    Castleford           v. St Helens  
Sunday, 14 May   Castleford           v. Hudd-Sheff

Sunday, 21 May   Warrington           v. Castleford

Sunday, 28 May   Castleford           v. Salford

Sunday, 4 June     Wigan                v. Castleford

Sunday, 11 June   London               v. Castleford

Sunday, 18 June   Castleford           v. Bradford

Sunday, 25 June   Hull                 v. Castleford

Sunday, 2 July   Leeds                v. Castleford

Sunday, 9 July   Castleford           v. Wakefield

Sunday, 16 July   Castleford           v. Halifax

Sunday, 23 July   St Helens            v. Castleford

Sunday, 30 July   Castleford           v. Warrington

Sunday, 6 August   Hudd-Sheff           v. Castleford

Sunday, 13 August   Bradford             v. Castleford

Sunday, 20 August   Castleford           v. Leeds

Sunday, 27 August   Halifax              v. Castleford

Sunday, 3 September   Castleford           v. London
Sunday, 10 September   Hudd-Sheff          v. Castleford
Sunday, 10 September   Hudd-Sheff           v. Castleford
Sunday, 17 September   Castleford           v. Wakefield

Oh yeah, can any of you help me out - I'm looking to add a section on the directions to all Superleague clubs - Can any of you let me know any info you have ? I used to have a book with directions in it to all clubs but I've lost it!!! Any help would be appreciated :-)

The QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS are now up on the site for you to view. To be honest, no major surprises were sprung on me by your answers, most of them told me what I already knew. Please take a look to see what fellow fans think of the site.

Even though the vast majority of you didn't think the site needed a new design or colour change, I have still decided to do one. What I will do is put up the new site when it is ready and then ask for feedback. If the feedback is negative i.e. not as good as this design etc. then I can fairly easily revert to this format again.

There is nothing radical about the new design - Most sections will stay as they are (except for the Under 16's stuff, which will get put on this page when and if I receive any info about them. Last season, I got loads from one of the players dad's but I believe that he is now playing for Fev this season so I can't see me getting as much stuff!!! I have e-mailed the U16's coach to see if I will be getting info and when I know, I will tell you.

The colour scheme has changed to a more deep orange colour and the option bar on the left hand side has changed to buttons which highlight in tiger colours when you move the mouse over them. This is done with DHTML which people with browsers before versions 4 of IE and Netscape will not be able to see.

Because of this, I have now added a complete navigation bar at the bottom of each page so that the few people with these browsers can still get round the site.

What I would say to the old browser users is : if at all possible, update them :-) Most sites are now designed for the latest browsers. I know this isn't always possible as a lot of you view the site from work. I'm sure your bosses wouldn't take kindly to you wanting a new browser so you could view rugby info when you should be working!!! ;-)

Okay, what else has/will be changing ? I have added a few more graphics to the site (tiger related of course) and I have tried my hand at creating new logos etc. I really am no expert at this but I think they look okay ?

The pages themselves should now be more uniform with links etc being the same colour throughout the site (mainly!!!)

I have changed the font to Arial and I think it looks more professional - Let me know if you agree when the new site is up and running.

I have change the layout and content of a lot of pages due to comments I have received e.g. the players pictures/info now have all the pictures and player info on one page. Yes, it will take longer to load BUT, you don't have to do as many clicks and you can usually get to different info quicker and more easily.

The site has been designed for use in a screen resolution of either 800x600 or higher - If it doesn't show up correctly, please let me know as I think I have thoroughly checked it to make sure it does :-)

To be honest, I think that all the changes I have made are for the better BUT please feel free to disagree and let me know when the site is up. (I'm beginning to get fed up of typing that last sentence now!!!)

You will still be able to view the site from the same URL as now : www.rangey.demon.co.uk/tigers.htm

When the site is ready to put up, I will be taking everything offline for a few days to resubmit everything to the search engines so that all the links etc show correctly if someone is searching for anything tiger related. I will let you know before this happens but I thought I'd give you advance notice - Didn't want you thinking I was closing down :-)

Can't think of anything else right now, so until next time, Bye - Mark :-)

New Fixtures are announced today - Interesting news in the last couple of days with Hull TAKING OVER Gateshead!!

Castleford have signed centre Logan Campbell, from Hull.

Campbell is a New Zealand national, but does not count towards the club's overseas quota, having played in England since 1994.

He has agreed a one year deal with the Tigers

Please visit THIS LINK if you are using an older or unusual browser i.e. Netscape or internet explorer BEFORE version 4 or something not Netscape or IE at all.

I need your help so that next seasons site can be viewed correctly by everyone.

Thanks in advance

Mark

Nathan Sykes has signed a new contract with the Tigers. The only out of contract player now is Lee Harland and something could be sorted out with him sometime next week. Sykes has signed until 2002

On this website front, I'm still progressing nicely - I think I've now got a nice colour scheme but will still ask you what you think soon. The pages for next season are now also coming along nicely with some fancy touches for those of you with the latest browsers :-)

Academy player Andy McNally has been given a first team squad number for next season. The centre is an "outstanding prospect" (in the words of Stuart Raper)

Gael Tallec is no longer a Tiger - He has been released by the club and he is looking to play league back in France for Carpentras.

Okay, not a lot going on at the moment apart from the usual transfer speculation stories - I'll leave it to you on the message board to decide who's coming and going from the club :-))

On a different front, I'm now compiling the questionnaires and it looks like not much will change content wise - Pretty much the same as now BUT, I'm currently trying to design some new site backgrounds etc.

I'm not completely happy with some of them so when I have got a few together, I'll put them up so you can view them and let me know which you prefer.

That's it for a few more days :-) Mark

Cas announced today that they've signed BJ Mather back for a 2nd time.

He comes in to the club on a one year contract and will fill the gap left at centre by Maloney's departure

Also, Dean Sampson has been rewarded for a good season at the club with a further 1 year extension to his contract - It runs until 2001 and will possibly mean that he will end his career with the Tigers

Finally, a bit about the site - around 35 questionnaires filled in so far and I've started work on getting the site up and ready for next season (I like to be organised) So far it doesn't look like too many changes - except for some slightly cosmetic ones - Before the new site is up and running, you'll get your say on whether you like it or not - As I've always maintained, it's your site therefore it should have what you want on it :-)

Cheers for now - Mark

Cas have signed 28 year old Sheffield Eagles Captain Darren Shaw. He can play at prop or 2nd row and we've got him on a 2 year contract.

A player leaving the club is Francis Maloney who has signed for the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.

The Tigers will play the Wildcats on Boxing day at Wheldon Road and the Rhinos at Headingley on 2nd January.

So far, I've got 26 replies to the questionnaire - Keep sending them in :-)

End of Season Questionnaire

time again :-)

Please take the time to fill in the form. Shouldn't take you more than 5 minutes and the answers will shape the look of the site and also the content for next season.

Jason Flowers has signed a new 2 year contract with the Tigers :-)

Seems that once again the club are proving US wrong!!! I for one thought he would be off to St Helens but as I've said before, the current set up are doing everything they can to make us contenders.

Adrian Vowles has won the Superleague Man Of Steel award.

Congrats go out to Adrian as it is fully deserved.

He surely has to be one of the best Aussies we've ever had at Cas - Always giving 100% every game and seemingly caring about the club too.

St Helens 36 Castleford 6

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Well, we just couldn't manage to beat the Saints. We made far too many mistakes in the game giving the ball away far too easily on the 1st and 2nd tackles.

Up till half time the game was close (10:6) but St Helens took control when Sean Long came on as sub and controlled the game.

The support was brilliant, even at 36:6 down, with 10 minutes to go, there was nonstop chanting of "Stuart Raper's barmy army" until well after the whistle went.

Let's hope that we can keep the team together and build on this season for next :-)

Cheers for now - Mark

Okay, so we have to play St Helens on Sunday at Knowsley Road - Not an easy task but if they perform like they did against Bradford then we can take them.

Also, if we can keep our current form then we could beat the Saints if they are on top of their game. It'll be interesting to see how both teams play.

I'm looking forward to us beating the Bulls at Old Trafford!!! :-)

Anyway, if you're reading this, I've managed to update the site from my Fiancé's house which will make updates a lot easier in future - You won't have to wait 5 days now for a match report - unless I can't be bothered!!! :-)))

I think that's about it for now - I'm off to get my map out so I can get to St Helens and back - I've been 3 times before and have always got lost on the way home!!!

Cheers for now - Mark :-)

Leeds 16 Castleford 23

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Wow - What a game Again!! - 2 down, two to go - Bradford or Saints next week - Not sure who I prefer - Probably St Helens, if Bradford can injure a few of their players tomorrow!!!.

Great Performance from Cas yesterday, especially to come back after the Rhinos equalised. We've now beat 4th and 3rd and are currently on a high not previously experienced.

Can we go the whole way ? WHY NOT!!! ?

We've shown that we've got the ability, We've shown that we can cope with the pressure AND we've shown that we've learned from our semi-final loss to London earlier in the season.

Now let's have a bit of sympathy for poor old Leeds!!! ONLY KIDDING - I'm as glad as everyone else that once again, they haven't managed to win Superleague!!!!!! Oh, dear, oh dear, oh dear!!!!!!!!! :-)))))

Not sure If I'll be able to update the site for a while after Friday's game as my brother is getting married on Saturday.

Hopefully, I've set up an FTP program on my Fiancé's computer and will now be able to update the site from her house too BUT, I have yet to try this - It may not work :-)

Hi Everybody - I'm still riding high after last Sunday and it should be a cracking game tomorrow night - I called in at Headingley on Monday to buy a ticket and was told they were not on sale (except to season ticket holders) until Tuesday.

The woman behind the counter then told me that if I wanted to stand, then I should just buy a ticket on the night.

Since then, both clubs have been stressing to buy tickets before the game to avoid congestion - Perhaps the Rhino's left hand doesn't know what it's right hand is doing!!! (But I can hazard a good guess!!!) :-))

Talking to a Rhinos fan at work today (makes it worse that she lives in Cas!!!) she said that she didn't know if the Rhinos would beat us. Apparently, the played crap against London a couple of weeks ago and Jane thought that they could likely put up a similar performance against us - God I hope so anyway :-)

The planned Chat Room session at the weekend was a bit of a disappointment with only myself and one other person (Cobs of Scarborough) turning up.

The question is, Why ?

Is it that you were all at the game ?

Were you not interested in chatting with other Cas fans ?

Were you busy getting ready to watch the game on TV ?

Please let me know as I'd like to plan more of these chats in the future if there is enough demand :-)

As we get closer to the Grand Final and the end of the season, in the next few weeks I will be putting a questionnaire on the site to get as many of your opinions as possible - Please take the time to fill it in as the answers gained from the questionnaire will be used to shape how the site looks in the future :-) - Cheers for now - Mark

Wigan 10 Castleford 14

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Or my LIVE REPORT HERE

Wow - What a game - Great - It had everything - Bring on the Rhinos on Friday!!!!!

The Live report says it all!!!!

Okay everyone, it's nearly game time now. Join me at 5:30 until around kick off time for a chat in the
CHAT ROOM
and then click
NEARLY LIVE UPDATES
for latest info on the game (updated every couple of minutes)

This Sunday, from around 5:30, I will be hanging around in the new CHAT ROOM that I've added to the site.

If you're not at the game, please join me and we can have a bit of a natter before the main event. The more people there, the more interesting it should be!!! :-))

You know that I like to be innovative and ground breaking on this site don't you?!!! Well seeing that I'm having to make do with watching the game on TV this Sunday, I will be posting match updates every couple of minutes to the website - Nearly LIVE!!!!

So, if you're not at the game and can't see the game on TV, or hear it on the radio, or something else!!!! Tune in to ME!!!

Sundays game is likely to be a 16000 sell out - Get a ticket before you head off to Wigan - Apparently, Cas hope to have around 5000 fans there!!!

Huddersfield 10 Castleford 32

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Bit of a stroll for Cas in the end and it could also spell relegation for the Giants if Widnes can win the Northern Ford Premiership.

Massive match on Sunday at the JJB Stadium against the Warriors. My heart tells me that Cas will do it (also, it helps that we've beat them twice this season already) but my head tells me that it will be very very very tough to beat a defending champions Wigan side in the playoffs.

Lets hope that the lads pull it off - I'd love to turn Leeds over next week!!!

I have added a CHAT PAGE to my site. I sure that a few of you will be able to visit the room at the same time and talk about rugby!!!

Big big game on Sunday against Huddersfield - not only for us but also for the Giants - If they lose, they could go down and if we lose we could be out of the playoffs!!!

I think that we will absolutely hammer them to secure our place against the Warriors or the Rhinos - Anyone for a trip to the new JJB Stadium?

Well, I'm finally back on home soil - I've even got a tan!!!.So what did I do on holiday ? Mainly, I kept abreast of how Cas were doing - The hotel in Ibiza even had Sky Sports so I was able to see us beat Warrington in a very close game.

You can get all the MATCH REPORTS HERE including today's victory over the Blue Sox.

A win next week would see us in the playoffs probably against Wigan - A loss next week would probably give us the same result anyway. We've beat them twice this season all ready but can we do it come playoff time? I hope so.

Oh yeah, just read that we are letting Danny Ellison go at the end of the season.

I'll update again in the next couple of days - Cheers for now - Mark

As a parting shot before my hols, click on the photo below to view photos from last nights game.

Castleford 30 Wakefield 18

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Not an easy game by any stretch of the imagination but once which I feel we deserved to win.

We don't perform really well against the Wildcats though, do we!!!

Still, 2 points are 2 points and we did play some good rugby in parts - Wakefield did well to contain us and gave us a few shocks along the way.

Big game tomorrow against the Wildcats - Lets hope we can do it.

Hopefully I will get the chance to update the site on Saturday before I go on holiday for a fortnight. Obviously, there will be no updates here whilst I'm getting tanned, drunk and a lot fatter!!! :-)

I'm sure the message board or the official site will keep you up to date :-)

If you read the message board, you may be aware that there is a bit of a campaign for a Rugby version of Championship manager.

Well, as I don't know how to program and don't know anyone who does, I have got the next best thing.

Follow the game link here or on the option bar and you will be able to download a ZX Spectrum emulator and 3 Rugby League management games. Please bear in mind that these are at LEAST 10 years old, so don't expect too much (George Fairburn appears in one of the games!!!)

Castleford 44 Hull 16

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Well, once again another easy win for the Tigers - And I've updated the site within an hour this week!!!

The Sharks were never in the game but put on a better performance after half time because we didn't seem to try as hard and took our foot off the pedal.

Oh yeah, take a look at the tables now - Gateshead lost to London and we are now back in 5th on points difference with a game in hand over the Thunder.

Lets hope we win on Friday against Wakefield.

Hi Sue - Couldn't put this anywhere else as you didn't give me your e-mail address in your message. Anyway, let me know if you have one. Good to hear from you - Bye for now - Mark.

P.S. Hope Ian and Andrew are okay :-)

Sheffield 0 Castleford 22

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Another easy win for the Tigers and our 2nd "Nilling" of the opposition away from home this season. Not bad eh ?

As I'm typing this, The Bulls are just about to play Wigan on Sky - Come on the Bulls!!!!! Didn't think I'd ever say that!!! If they win, then we could easily finish in 4th position!

Oh yeah, other news - Michael Eager has signed another 2 year contract with us.

Yep, you guessed it, it's excuse time again - seems to be every week now!!! This week I've got an even better one than last week - I've just bought myself a spanking fast new computer (from Tesco's believe it or not!!! It bumped up my clubcard points anyway!!!)

Since Tuesday, I haven't done anything else except try and get it configured and transfer all the files from my old machine. I think I am finally winning with it now :-)

I am also using a new Web Page editor and have also got a larger monitor therefore I'm not sure if the pages on the site will still appear the same to you or not.

As always, if something on the site looks wrong or doesn't work, please let me know and I'll fix it :-) - I would be interested in any e-mails letting me know if anything on the site now looks different :-)

Castleford 52 London 16

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Well, what an easy win that was! Cas looked on top form and London looked very dodgy indeed (someone should tell them never to let the ball bounce!!!). We could and should go back into 5th place after we beat Sheffield on Saturday!!!

One other good thing to come out of the game was that I took Nicolas to watch his first ever game of rugby league - he's only 10 - and he instantly became a Cas fan. What's even better is that he has lived in LEEDS all his life - Nothing quite like taking Loiners out of Leeds and converting them at an early age!!! :-))

Cas are keeping the same 17 as last week for this Sunday's game against the Bronco's

Someone at work today said that Mike McDonald (Marketing Manager) has left the club and gone to the Rhinos - Anyone else heard this ? Can you confirm or deny it ?

Once again, it's taken me 5 days to update the site since the last game - Sorry - Things are still a bit hectic at the moment. I got engaged a couple of weeks ago and the wedding preparations etc. are beginning to take over (even though it's not til sometime next year!).

I'm also going on Holiday in a 3 weeks time for a fortnight, so I'll miss 2 or 3 games at the end of the season. Updates by you lot on the message board will no doubt be appreciated by Tiger fans everywhere. Me - I'll be too busy eating, drinking and all the rest :-) in Ibiza!!! - Cheers - Mark

Bradford 24 Castleford 22

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

It was a Damn shame we lost - some fans may see it as though we were robbed with some of the refs decisions. I think that we were hard done by on a couple of occasions but that's just the way the game is!!!

On this performance, we can hold our own with the best of them (although I don't think Bradford have a chance in hell of winning the playoffs!)

Castleford 33 Wigan 18

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Wow!!! We won - AND did the double over the Warriors - Strange how things can seem so much better in the space of 5 days!!! Lets hope we can turn over the Bulls next week too.

A great performance from the team and a completely deserved victory. Well Done Lads.

Gateshead 24 Castleford 16

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Bugger, Damn, Blast etc...!!! We blew the chance to open a gap in the top 5 - From what I heard we were as good in the first half as the Thunder but let it slip in the 2nd 40 minutes.

Good to hear was that 3500 Cas fans went to watch the match at the International stadium.

Friday nights game should be a real cracker - pity that Wigan seem to be hitting a good patch at the moment though!!! :-)

Archived all the old news - If you want it, you can find it in THE ARCHIVE

Castleford 38 Salford 10

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Well done to the team on getting another 2 points - Sundays game is vital- a real 4 pointer - lets hope they can get some revenge for their loss to the Thunder earlier in the season.

Danny Orr has signed with Cas for another 4 years - For a "star of the future", the backroom staff have done extremely well to get this deal as we normally lose all our stars :-)

Castleford 19 Huddersfield 10

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

So, we didn't play Steadman in the end and the youngsters did pretty well to get us the win.

I can't help wondering if we would be even better if we hadn't let Andy Hay go to Sheffield a couple of years back?

Anyway, I digress - A win against Salford on Sunday is another must win for us to keep well up in the top 5.

Cas have also announced that they are well into contract negotiations with all of their stars.

Vowles, Maloney and Pickering could all play on Sunday after injury.

Cas have an injury crisis - Graham Steadman may even have to play at the weekend. For more details please visit the official site :-)

Leeds 50 Castleford 22

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Cas were crap - What more can I say - Very few good performances and a lot of bad ones by individuals - Danny Ellison stood out as being particularly bad to me. We need to improve dramatically but it seems doubtful with all the injuries at the moment.

Finally got rid of the guestbook due to the messageboard taking over. I have also given the messageboard the old name of the guestbook (Biteback). Confused? Yep, I am too!!!!!

Halifax 0 Castleford 24

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Another good win for Cas - Lets hope we can keep it up for Wednesdays game at Leeds.

I got this e-mail today - If anyone knows Michael can they please pass this info on to him - Ta - Mark

"I am a mate of Michael Eagar and i'm trying to get in touch with him. My name is Jason Wendt. My number is 07 38560667 E-Mail : j.wendt@student.qut.edu.au "

Updated the MATCH REPORT page and also the LEAGUE TABLE

I'll update the tables and proper match report later in the week.

Okay, So I've decided to watch the game from home again!!! Lets see what's hapening.

Cas have got a lot of their young forwards playing tonight, Hill and Lynch and also Gareth Dobson.

Cas score after 2 minutes with a Danny Orr try after a break from Hepi. Orr goals for a 6:0 lead

It's all Tigers so far.

Gay scores a 2nd try for Cas shortly after after a kick to the corner from Davis. Orr goals from the touchline for a 12:0 lead.

Cas are totally dominating but get let off when Warrington score a try which is disallowed for offside. The ref didn't go to the video replay and if he had, the try would have been allowed.

So, Cas attack again and Gay gets his 2nd try of the games. Davis passed to the right to Orr who got the ball out to Maloney why made a great pass to gay. 25 minutes gone, Orr from the touchline again 18:0 to Cas.

Ok, you know whats coming now don't you!!! Yep, a Cas try!!!

Maloney scores after a break down the middle by Sykes who got it to Dobson who got it to Maloney. 35 minutes gone and 24:0 - Orr 4 out of 4 kicking.

2 minutes to half time and Davis kicks a drop goal - Why couldn't he have done that in the 3 games we've drawn so far this season?!!!!

25:0 at half time - Doesn't look like the Wolves have any chance of a comeback.

Flowers saves a try early on in the 2nd half and it's a bit more even. Warrington score first with Toa Koa-Love to make it 25:6

55 minutes gone and Francis Maloney score again after Wolves knocked on. Sampson steamed to the line and passed to Maloney who scored - 31:6

60 minutes and wolves get a player sin binned - Cas throw it out right and Ellison goes in at the corner after Orr and Maloney handle too. - 35:6

Gareth Dobson is having a good game tonight along with Sampson.

70 minutes gone and Maloney gets his hattrick

Final score is 39:6 and Cas move back into the top 5 with a good performance.

Well, what's happened in the last 5 days ? Cas have lost to Wakefield - See the MATCH REPORT HERE - Didn't go - once again I had other matters to attend (looking round sodding Lotherton Hall bird garden in the pouring rain!!!) - Actually, seeing the result, it may not have been so bad after all!!!!

Anyway, from what I heard on the radio and have just seen on Sky, we were pretty poor handling the ball and could have and should have won - what do you all think about the drop goal that never was, on the final hooter ? There's plenty of discussion about this and all sorts of other stuff at the moment on the MESSAGE BOARD.

That's about it for now - I'm still getting my computer back together - for those who are interested, it took a complete formatting of my hard drive and I had to upgrade from Windows 95 to Windows 98 - Don't ask me why, as computers sometimes seem to have a mind of their own!!!

Getting back to Rugby (that is why you're here - nearly forgot!!!) We really need to win against the Wolves on Sunday to keep us in the top 5. Another loss will see us slip outside with Gateshead and WAKEFIELD!!! on our tails - Cheers for now - Mark

Why not visit www.hagis.freeserve.co.uk The site (CHEZ GREZ) is run by Graeme (who posts on the guestbook as Cas Tiger - and it has a section on the Tigers - I haven't had a look yet but I'm sure it's worth a visit :-)

I've had it suggested by a couple of readers that I rename the message board "BITEBACK" and get rid of the old guestbook completely - Any views on this ? I personally agree with the above comment - Please let me know as it's you who read the site :-)

Well I did say it may be Thursday before an update!!! It's took me 2 hours just to get my computer booted up!!!

Castleford 12 Leeds 12

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Another record breaking superleague crowd for Cas (10,400 and something) - It was a great match to watch and one which both sides could have and should have won at different stages.

Anyone think we should have a better placekicker and drop goal kicker in the team ?, or is Orr up to the task ? We have got Gay, Davis? and Tonks in the side - Anyone else kick goals ? (Can we sneak Steadman on with the sand to kick them for us ?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, don't get me wrong, I'm NOT blaming Orr for missing - He's a great player. Iystyennwhatsisname missed a much simpler one - I saw it tonight for the first time on TV and it was a howler - it didn't look as bad from where I was stood in the ground!!!

Can we beat the Wildcats ? It was a close game last time around and a friend of mine who's a Wildcat fan thinks they are going to turn us over!!!

Okay, final moan (or not as the cas is!!!) for today - I parked my car in the Pioneer car park on Sunday as everywhere else was full. I'll be doing this again - I walked to the ground in about 15 minutes - It takes at least 30 minutes to get out of the Tigers car park normally and I saved Ł2!!!!!

Brad Hepi has received a letter from the RFL warning him about dangerous tackling!!!

Okay, Okay, before you all start picking on me (as if, eh!!!), I'm well aware that I have been very slow to update the site this week!!!. The main reason is that my computer is crap!!! (Can you tell that I'm P****d of yet!!!)

It only works occasionally and I haven't had enough time to fix the problem - I'm going to get get a new machine shortly though.

Anyway, the site should now be up to date and hopefully next week I will be able to update it on Tuesday (maybe even the Sunday night, but don't count on it!!!)

So, Whats been happening ?

Cas are to play St Helens in DUBAI in January in a Millenium Challenge match. This is due to an Australian team dropping out - Wonder how many supporters will make that trip eh ?

Cas are now in 4th position in Superleage IV tied with the Rhino's so Sunday's game is vital for both sides.

Not a lot else happening as far as I know so please look at the match reports, tables, fixtures etc. (the usual stuff) now that I've finished rambling on here :-) - Cheers - Mark

P.S. The MESSAGE BOARD actually has a few threads on it and it appears that you like it!!!! :-)

I've decided that the POLLS page was a bad idea and have got rid of it.

To make up for the obvious dissapointment that you're all now feeling, I felt that I had to replace it with something NEW

For your entertainment, I have created a MESSAGE BOARD

The message board allow you to post messages (similar to the guestbook) but it updates them into threads - similar to newsgroups.

It is not intended to replace the guestbook but the guesbook should really be used by fans visiting the site for the first time or by those that want to leave messages that don't really warrant a discussion.

I know that a few of you have been using the London Broncos Forum recently and I think you will be pleased with the TIGERS MESSAGE BOARD

I think that it is a useful addition to the site (It also means you can read just the messages that interest you)

The main topic of course, is Tiger related but anything relating to RL is okay :-)

Messages will normally stay on the board for 365 days!!!

You can easily start new threads on the message board or reply to previous messages.

Please let me know what you think by e-mailing me Mark Raynor or by letting me know in the Forum or guestbook.

Thanks - Mark

I've managed to get hold of a picture of the Tiger's Under 16 team from their coach, Kiwi.

Click on the following link to see the picture in more detail - UNDER 16'S

Castleford 14 St Helens 33

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Castleford 10 Sheffield 6

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

I missed Sunday's game but by all accounts it was fairly dull (except for the 3 dissallowed Eagles tries?)

Tonights game was fairly good even though we lost - we played well and didn't make too many mistakes. I thought our tackling was poor - we couldn't get the ball carrier to the ground and the number of times Saints released the ball in the tackle was ridiculous - Sean Long did play really well though.

Lets hope for better on sunday against Hull.

As a side note - Cas must be doing something right, because my Dad actually went to his first game in 4 seasons with me tonight - He had vowed never to go again after we were so poor just a few seasons ago and seemed to be lacking ambition. I wonder how many more like him are gradually returning ?

Heard an interesting rumour today - Make your own minds up whether its true or not - Apparently Dean Sampson is going to leave the club at the end of the season to play for ------ Stanley Rangers!!!

From what I've heard, he wants to play amateur rugby next season for his local club.

For those of you who are regular readers, you will know that I often have a go at "sammy" for his indiscipline but even so, he is playing superbly this season and is far too good to go back to amateur rugby just yet.

Danny Orr has been called up into the Great Britain provisional squad for the tour to Australasia at the end of the season.

London 12 Castleford 12

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Cas gained their 2nd successive draw in what to me sounded like more of a lucky escape rather than a point dropped like it was last week against the Bulls - At the end cas missed another couple of drop goals which could have won the match but then again, so did London.

Updated MUSIC page - It now includes MP3 files for download and I've nearly got all the songs online :-)

Updated POLLS for Sunday's game.

Bit of a late update this week - Sorry! - To make up for it, I have included some pictures from the Bulls game (photos courtesy of my video recorder, sky sports and a digital camera!!!) You can see thumbnails of the photos below - to see them full size click HERE or follow the PHOTO GALLERY link on the left hand navigation bar.

Castleford 18 Bradford 18

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

I missed the game due to a day out in sunny Skegness - At least I got a bit of a tan - Well, my neck's been sore all week anyway!

Watched the game on video last night and it was a cracker - please read the match report for more details :-) Although Anderson got sent off, I don't think his forearm was particulary malicious - Anyone agree ?

Another great crowd breaking our Superleague record attendance - There were 10,122 in attendance.

I'm sure that 2 weeks ago we would have been happy to get 3 out of 4 points from Wigan and Bradford ?.

We now need to keep our good run up by beating London on Sunday (and also gaining revenge for our semi-final loss)

Castleford have announced the signing of New Zealand utility player Brad Hepi, on a short-term contract until June.

I have added a POLLS section to the website to replace the quiz page (which I rarely updated anyway). The results of each poll can be viewed immediately as they are done in real time.

Please have a look and tell me what you think or even what questions you would like to appear.

Also, are there any sections on the site that you never visit or don't think need to be here ?

Wigan 8 Castleford 24

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

From listening to the game on the radio, it sounds as though we completely outplayed the Warriors. Well done to all the team on a great result - It moves us back into 3rd place in the superleague.

Ian Tonks has signed a new contract with cas for the next 3 years.

Has anyone got any opinions on Tonks - I've always thought he was a good 2nd team player but Raper obviously thinks more highly of him ?

Mind you, he is having a decent season so far.

Former Hull utility player Brad Hepi, who is currently playing with Bramley in the Premiership, is being linked with a move to Castleford. On the official site, Stuart Raper admits an interest - So the deal will probably never happen!!!

Cas Tigers U16s 48 Salford Reds U16s 0

Cas under 16's win the ERSL Plate Final - read the report on the under 16's match reports page

UNDER 16'S

Cas will be at full strength against Wigan on Sunday with Richard Gay regaining his place after a leg injury

Copied from the official site - Coach Stuart Raper has slammed the infrequent usage of the video referee following his side's 17-14 defeat at the hands of Gateshead.The Tigers were twice denied tries on Sunday, but it is not that fact that Raper has a problem with."If the game had not been on TV, we would have won," he said."We need consistency - it's unfair that some games are decided by the use of a video ref - just because it happens to be on TV."

Castleford 14 Gateshead 17

See the MATCH REPORT HERE or read my version of events (as viewed on SKY)

Cas are wearing their new blue and white kit - Haven't made my mind up yet if I like it?

London score the first try of the game with just 4 minutes gone - Ben Sammut the scorer, Ian Herron kicks the goal for a 6:0 lead.

Cas attack the Gateshead line with some inventive passing but fail to score.

Gateshead look slightly the better side early on.

16 minutes gone and Cas nearly score with a lovely little kick through which the Thunder just manage to get to first.

Cas finally get over the line after 20 minutes but the video ref gives no try - Brad Davis didn't play the ball correctly.

Gateshead get over the try line after a high bomb - They come up with the ball over the line and the video ref awards - TRY - Grimaldi - Herron again adds the 2 for a 12:0 Thunder lead.

Cas aren't playing well and the crowd seem to think that the ref is against them :-)

Sampson starts braying a Thunder player for no apparent reason. He goes on report. Gateshead get the penalty and go for goal. - Herron misses.

35 minutes gone and after around 5 minutes of pressure on the Thunder line, the balls goes out to the left, Sampson stands up in the tackle and gets the ball to Rogers who goes over right in the corner. Orr misses the kick.

Cas rake the ball out on the 48 metre line - Gateshead go for goal and get it.

Cas 4 Gateshead 14 at half time. Cas need to improve in the 2nd half.

Cas attack early on in the second half and get over the line again after a gateshead man knocks on. Davis kicks through and scores - The video referee awards a TRY - just the start that the Tigers needed. Orr kicks the goal for a score of Tigers 10 Thunder 14

Cas are playing much better and are really fired up - we're putting Gatesead under a lot of pressure.

57 minutes gone a Cas still having all the pressure - Sampson gives away another silly penalty - he may be a good player but his discipline is absolutely crap. Sort it out!!!

Gateshead kick the penalty for a score of 16:10

65 minutes gone and Willie Peters kicks a drop goal for the Thunder for a 17:10 lead and Cas now need to score twice.

69 minutes gone and Sampson goes over the line with 3 Gateshead players on him - Video ref - I can't see if he got it down or not - No try given.

Cas score again with 73 minutes gone - Video ref again looking for a knock on - what will the result be ? - TRY - Orr misses the kick and the score is Cas 14 Gateshead 17 with 5 minutes to go.

We need a try to win the game - Unfortunately we couldn't get one and lose our 2nd game of the season. A much better 2nd half performance but our 1st half one wasn't good enough.

The Tigers have done it at last - They've got an Official Website (although they still don't have an email address)

I've just visited the site for the first time and it looks very professional and is informative and well presented.

Looks like I've got some competition on my hands at last? No, not really because I'm a Cas supporter first and foremost - I don't really care if you visit this site or the Official site - I know that you're only really after up to date info anyway :-))

I'll continue to update this site in exactly the same manner as before but I believe that You'll get something out of both sites - The official site say's that its news page is updated daily, although they don't have any rumours etc. - Just facts.

The site also has some very nice photos of old teams, players etc.

The site can be found by clicking here :

Cas Tigers Official Website

ARCHIVED the NEWS page up to the end of March - if you really want to relive the semi-final loss again, you know where to go :-)

Aaron Raper is the only injury doubt for the game tomorrow against the Thunder.

In the guestbook (biteback) a Fev fan currently seems to think that all Cas fans have ginger hair!!! - Why not take a look?

Sorry if anyone tried to view the fixtures or league tables yesterday - although I updated the files and sent them to Demon, for some reason they wen't updated - I'm about to resent them now.

Salford 17 Castleford 29

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Cas' win over the Reds moves them up in to 3rd place in Superleague. We'll see how good we really are in a few weeks time when we take on the teams who will be challenging for the title BUT, at the moment things look good :-) Hope we can beat the Thunder on Sunday.

Here are the last 2 fixtures of the season for the Under 16's (both are Finals) - Why not support the team - especially in the Final on the 16th at Wheldon Road

16/4/99 Salford (H) ERLS Plate Final @ Wheldon Road
24/4/99 Play Off Final v Widnes Vikings - 11AM @ Widnes

Huddersfield 14 Castleford 36

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Cas overpowered the Giants to move to their highest ever Superleague position (4th) - Lets hope we can stop there :-) By the way - Isn't Michael Eager doing well!!!

Castleford 14 Halifax 10

See the MATCH REPORT HERE Or read my version of events :-)

Cas got victory in the last 5 minutes of the game thanks to a HUGE HUGE hit by Dean sampson on the Blue Sox Number 3. The hit took place on the half way line and the player wend down like a sack of spuds - I don't know if the hit was legal or not but when I saw it happen I thought "that's got to hurt" - The Halifax player was eventually stretchered off and I hope that he is okay.

Anyway, Cas picked up the loose ball after the hit and playing toward the railway end got the ball out to the left wing where Michael Eager scored his 3rd try of the evening and the winner.

Cas started off the game under pressure for the first 10 minutes and then started to get into the game.

The match was entertaining but was nothing special - Cas didn't play particulary bad or particulary good rugby, but they came out with the 2 points.

The crowd was another good one - over 7200 - not bad for a Friday night and the atmosphere down the lane these days is excellent.

We play Huddersfield on Wednesday evening - Lets hope we can make it 17 defeats in a row for them in Superleague :-)

Archived the BITEBACK GUESTBOOK after the recent rush of entries - It can be found in the archive section. Please keep filling it up :-)

London 33 Castleford 27

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Cas lose the semi-final to the Broncos in the last minute - In an exciting game, we couldn't quite manage to pull out a victory from a game that seemed lost midway through the first half.

Danny Orr about to pull Cas even closer.

Cas came back well but made far too many mistakes on the 2nd and 3rd tackle. Why don't we use our feet to stop the ball before picking it up ? It cost us dearly.

Headingley before the game - Not too sure about "Love The Game" after the result!!!

Also something which ultimately cost the team dearly was their inability to win the short Rugby Union style kick offs that are becoming more and more popular this season. This tactic set the Broncos up for their winner.

When Eager scored in the second half I thought that we'd won it but to London's credit them came straight back at us.

When Orr kicked the drop goal to tie the game, I thought it was going to extra time.

I'm not going to think again!!!.

As I've already said, a very gutsty performance by Cas with a never say die atttitude - Unfortunatly, so did London.

So, what now for Cas ? I think we can still have a very good season but we have to win against Halifax on Monday.

Hi everybody :-)

Thanks to those that put the result in the guestbook and gave a bit of info about the Warrington game - It's much appreciated.

Same again this week I'm afraid - Although I'm going to Headingley for the semi, I won't be able to put the result/report etc on the site until Wednesday or Thursday. If anyone wants to post this info or anything else please do so again in the guestbook HERE

Thanks

Mark :-)

Stand-off Danny Orr is given only a 50-50 chance of recovering form his medial ligament injury, in time for Saturday's Cup semi-final against London. Better news on the Tigers other injured players, with Dean Sampson, Francis Maloney and Aaron Raper all making progress, but coach Stuart Raper will leave team selection until Saturday morning.

Warrington 19 Castleford 14

See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Can everyone still see the option bar on the left hand side of the screen and the counter? Please let me know as I've had a report of it not working.

I won't get chance to update the site after Sunday's game until at least Wednesday - if anyone wants to post the result on the guestbook (biteback on the left frame option bar) or click here -BITEBACK (GUESTBOOK). I would be most grateful - Also, the guestbook has been underused recently. Please feel free to discuss whatever you like about rugby on there :-)

Cas have drawn the London Broncos in the Semi-Final of the Challenge Cup - The game will be played at Headingley on Saturday 27th March - I think we can do it - Anyone else agree ?

Castleford 30 Salford 10

See a press MATCH REPORT HERE or read my account of the game below :-)

Okay, I haven't gone to the game!!!! I've decided to watch it on TV - I fully expect stick for this!!!!!!! BUT, it does mean that I can watch the game and type my views as events happen so , here goes.

Ray French has already referred to JT as Tony the Tiger!!!

The ground looks full again and it also looks in good condition from the aerial view.

Cas kick off to Salford - We'll be scoring at the railway end in the first half!!! Forward pass by the Reds on the first pass!! Cas attack but don't play the ball correctly.

Mistake by both sides in the first 5 minutes - Salford looking more dangerous on attack.

Cas get a penalty after Sampson has the ball ripped from him with 3 tacklers hanging on! - Orr takes the kick and gives Cas a 2:0 lead.

Rogers makes the first real break of the game after a good passing manover starting in the Cas 20 metre line - Rodgers gets held down and David Hulme gets sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes - Orr kicks for goal again and makes it 4:0 after 12 minutes.

Salford get a 40:20 kick and go on the attack - Cas manage to hold them out.

Salford get a penalty for lying on at the play the ball - They get the kick so it's 4:2

A good passing move by Cas to the left hand corner sees Rodgers go in at the corner - Orr kicks from the touchline misses - 8:2 to the Tigers after 22 minutes

Cas now get a 40:20 kick and go on the attack but Salford gather the high bomb.

Both sides are still making lots of simple errors.

Another good move by Cas sees them nearly score on 2 occassions - 30 minutes gone.

Salford get a penalty for a high tackle - The kick goes over by Blakeley and the score is 8:4

Cas have a couple more decent attacks that come to nothing - Pickering is starting to unload the ball really well in the tackle.

Half time score - 8:4 to the Tigers and all to play for in the 2nd half.

A couple of Vowles breaks in the first 2 minutes nearly resuly in a gay try - the last pass was just forward.

Both sides have cut down on mistakes in the 2nd half.

Cas are just driving the ball straight at the Reds.

Good solid defense so far as well by the Tigers.

Cas on the attack and David Hulme goes off to the sin bin again!!!

Orr with the kick for a 10:4 lead with 23 minutes to play

Francis Maloney sideteps and breaks one tackle and goes 85 metres upfield for a try - The crowd go wild and so does everyone sitting here with me!!!!!!! Orr kicks from in front of the sticks for a 16:4 lead with 18 minutes to go.

Cas now making all the breaks and Raper nearly scores with a little chip to himself.

Have Cas scored again - Rodgers goes in after Orr releases the ball with 2 men hanging on to him - The video ref is having a look at it - it looks like a try -IT IS!!!!!!!! and cas have this tie sewn up and have booked a place in the semi-finals. Orr misses the kick and the score is 20:4

10 minutes to go and Broadbent scores for Salford - First lapse in the Tigers defence all afternoon. Blakeley kicks the goal for a 20:10 scoreline.

Ian Tonks makes a bullocking run - Danny Orr sidesteps 3 players before passing to Aaron Raper who scores the try - Raper would be my man of the match (If I were allowed to pick!!!) Orr kicks the goal to make the score 26:10

In the last minute after a Tonks break (again) Davies gets the ball and waltzes in for the try. Orr misses the kick and the final hooter goes.

Final score 30:10

We're in the last 4 - This wasn't a brilliant performance but it was a GOOD one - We we the better team with a lot of ideas and things look good for this season.

How do you get to the ground ? Easy if you live in Cas!!!

BUT, for those that don't, there is now a DIRECTIONS page!!!

Cas should field the same team as last week for today's game against the Reds.

Chant from the terraces - To the Teletubbies theme -

"Tinky Winky, Dipsy, La La, KEMP!!!"

Stuart Raper, who is still searching for some half-back cover, has turned his attention to Huddersfield scrum half Steve Booth.

The Disciplinary Committee have adjudicated on Dean Sampson, on a charge of striking Wakefield forward Gary Price. He was found guilty of the offence, but the Committee decided that a 'sending-off sufficient' penalty would be imposed.

This means that Sampson will be available to play in Saturday's Cup tie against Salford.

Old Boy Tony Kemp wasn't as fortunate!!!, The Wakefield loose forward was technically "sent-off" after last Sunday's game had finished. He was found guilty of 'using foul and abusive language' towards match referee Karl Kirkpatrick and received a two games suspension.

See a press MATCH REPORT HERE or read my account of the game below :-)

Castleford 12 Wakefield 10

Cas got off to their first ever win on opening day in Superleague with an injury time penalty to win the match.

The game was played throughout in terrible wet conditions and both sides made mistakes.

I have never seen a team have as much possesion as Cas did in this game - I bet in the first half we had the ball for 35 minutes!!!

Unfortunately, we couldn't score!!! and the game was close. Wakefield were constantly offside and if they continue this tactic, once the refs do something about it, they will be penalised a lot more than they were in this game.

Cas showed off their third mascot before the game - Tiger Tot - A baby Tiger on a quad bike!!!

Dean Sampson got sent off in the second half after earlier being sin-binned. He only appeared to push the Wakefield player to the ground but his lack of discipline could have cost us - Fortunately, this time it didn't.

The score was 6:6 at half time but could have been more to Cas as Danny Orr had a real off day with the boot (except at the end) From memory, I think he missed 3 relatively easy kicks in the first half. Also, we gifted the Wildcats their try when Harland ? passed the ball straight to their winger on our own 20 metre line - They easily managed to score.

In the 2nd half Cas again made all the running and as the half wore on, put a lot of pressure on Wakefield.

Wakefield scored the first try of the half after some slack defense and an aquaplane of about 10 metres! One of my friends (a Wakefield fan) says that the ball just landed on the line and wasn't a double movement.

Cas, down by 10:8 with 3 minutes to go had a try disallowed for a double movement - From where I stood, it looked a good try and all looked lost!

Then a couple of minutes later, we were awarded a penalty in front of the sticks and Orr kicked the goal when it mattered.

Cas immediately were awarded a penalty from the kickoff and the ball was kicked into touch at about the 2 metre line. The Tigers were on the attack and with time running out chose to go for the drop goal on the 2nd tackle. The kick was blocked and a Wakefield player caught it - IN AN OFFSIDE POSITION - Penalty kick to Cas to win the game - Orr took his time and slotted it straight through the middle for a 12:10 victory - Trinity were gutted and Cas were jubilant.

So, not a great performance, but I know we can play better - especially in the good weather AND we've got 2 points!!!!

Roll on Saturday and a win over the Reds to get to the semi's of the cup - Hopefully!!!

Cheers for now - Mark

Here's an artists impression of what the new ground will look like

The under 16's page has been redesigned (again!!!). It can be found here : UNDER 16'S

Cas have been drawn at home again in the quarter finals of the Challenge Cup against the Salford Reds.

The match will be shown on BBC1 on Saturday 13th March

Castleford 28 York 2

Cas beat the Wasps in a well below par performance. Although the Wasps played well, we never clicked as a team and looked extremely average. We should have and could have done so much better. See the MATCH REPORT HERE

The under 16's now have their own page on this site. It can be found by clicking here : UNDER 16'S

Cas willl have James Pickering and Dale Fritz making their official club debuts in Friday's Cup tie against York.

Both have got over the injuries that kept them out the Tigers' team that defeated Hull in the last round.

Having failed in an attempt to land Warrington scrum half John Duffy, Stuart Raper is now turning his attention towards Widnes and former Hull halfback Mark Hewitt, who has recently asked the Vikings for a transfer.

I have recently been contacted by the Cas under 16's.

Hopefully these pages will now contain information about the Tigers Under 16's on a regular basis :-)

They have 2 matches planned at present :

CAS V BARROW AT HOME 20/2/99 CUP
CAS V LONDON BRONCO'S AT HOME 27/2/98 FRIENDLY

Put some photos of Sunday's game in the PHOTO GALLERY

Cas have drawn York Wasps in the 5th round of the cup. York are the Tigers feeder team and we also have a good fan base from the York area - Should be an interesting tie with (dare I say it) only one real outcome!!!

The game will be played on Friday 26th February (7.30pm kick-off)

Castleford 36 Hull 22

Cas beat the Sharks in a good team performance - See the MATCH REPORT HERE

Stuart Raper was delighted with the way his patched-up side had moved into the last 16.

They overcame the absence of forwards James Pickering, Dale Fritz and Lee Harland and Raper said: "I thought the lads who came in were terrific.

"I thought the combination of Michael Eagar and Darren Rogers down the left was virtually unstoppable and it was a great win.

"We've got a lot of work to do on our defence and a few other things but we ground out a win today and played some entertaining football."

Hull have sacked formerTiger Michael Smith, after just one game. The New Zealander's contract was cancelled for a breach of club discipline, prior to Sunday's Cup tie. It is alledged that Smith was seen drinking in a nightclub at 2.00am last Sunday morning, just a few hours before the game.

Super League chiefs are appealing to female rugby league fans with a nationwide poster campaign featuring Tiger's half-back Brad Davis taking an after-match shower!!!!

Picture will be on the site as soon as I see it!!! :-)

Adrian Vowles say's that the team have no special plans to deal with former Tiger Michael Smith on Sunday.

He still lives in Cas with Gael Tallec and Brad Davis so he's hoping that they drop some laxative in his dinner on Saturday!!!!!!!

Nice bloke, eh ? !!!!!!!!!!!! :-))

Cas are looking for new cheerleaders - both male and female!!!!!! - The club want to try and do something different from all the other clubs in Superleague.

Stuart Raper has said that Hull will not be a pushover despite their inconsistent pre-season form.

He thinks that Gary Lester and Andrew Purcell will be the men to watch for the Sharks.

Cas will be at full strength for the game at Hull - The team is likely to be the same as the one that played Gateshead with the inclusion of James Pickering replacing Nathan Sykes.

Put the last couple of months news in the ARCHIVE section of the site.

Good luck to the team on Sunday against Hull - I think that we should get a win - What a change from the start of last season when we didn't know what to expect. eh!!!

Put some more player details on the site

Finally updated the quiz page with 17 new questions - They're not about Rugby but they are great fun, especially when you know the answers!!!

Visit the QUIZ page now!!! :-)

Cas will play Hull Sharks in the Challenge Cup

Started adding player profiles along with this season's squad numbers

Finally got the correct Tigers logo on the site - It doesn't have RLFC on the badge any more!!!

Added a couple of photos to the player sections click

for Stuart Raper for Jason Flowers.

Cas beat Gateshead Thunder 18:8 in a bit of a scrappy game - Both sides played pretty poorly and the slippy weather conditions didn't make it any easier for them in the first "proper" match of the season. A full match report will follow shortly on the MATCH REPORTS page.

2 Fixtures have been rearranged - see the FIXTURES page for the updated details.

Cas will have new shirts this season but the won't be worn until the Challenge Cup game in a couple of weeks time.

The Tigers have new sponsors for the coming season. Out goes Clearsport and in comes Safestyle UK - They are a Yorkshire based glazing company and have an option to sponsor the Tigers in 2000 as well.

Cas have failed to sign John Duffy from Warrington but have not given up on the deal eventually going through.