Featherstone 12 Castleford 25MATCH REPORT COPIED FROM THE YORKSHIRE EVENING POST The mountain which Rovers have to climb if they are ever to challenge for a super league spot was demonstrated in spades by this nonetheless entertaining boxing Day friendly. For a Rovers side, admittedly without half a dozen of it's choicest players, lined up against what was to all intents and purposes little more than the Tigers Academy side. The oldest player to pull on the black and amber was Ian Tonks, by comparrison a veteran with copious super league experience compared to all but Jon Wells. Though this may not have been the cream of the crop on display in terms of start status, this was certainly the top of the milk in terms of effort and commitment. Errors there were a plenty but the 3000 plus crowd was well aware that it was gale induced numb fingers which were to blame, not ineptitude as the youngsters gave it their best. It was Cas playing with the wind at their grateful backs, who had by far the best of the first half, throwing the ball around in attack as they pounded away at the Rovers line. An indication of how tricky the conditions were came on just 4 minutes when Tonk's feet went from under him as he tried a long range penalty attempt. Rovers launched the first decent raid of the game out on the right but Ian Thompson dropped the ball as he was tackled in the corner by Mark Sibson. Cas swept up the field and after good work by Peter Riley, the Rovers defence opened up for Spencer Hargrave to put Chris Allen in. Tonks added the goal to cancel out a Stuart Dickens penalty. By 18 minutes, Cas were in again, this time through Andy Hill, again off Riley, with Tonks making it 12-2 Hill crashed over from acting half back on 24 to allow Tonks to open the gap to 16 points. It was a very different story after the break, with Rovers making the best of their wind assistance to see Swinson capitalise on good pressure with an acting half try on 43 minutes. Dickens added two points. Featherstone seemed to fade a little but were inspired by the dismissal of Paul Smith just after the hour. They were unlucky not to score a minute later when David Patrickson was held on his back over the line. But on 70 minutes fine, forceful running from Ryan Horsley brought a deserved try, goaled by Matt Bramwald to make it 12:18. Riley droppoed the first points of cas's second half on 75 minutes to make the gap two scores before the visitors were flattered by a last minute interception try from flying sub, Andrew McNally who snapped up a loose pass less than 10 yards from his own line and tore away to score. Steven Kirk added a grand goal. Cas team : Kirk, J Wells, P Wells, Gibson, Allen, Riley, Tonks, Dobson, Lynch, Hill, Hargrave, Bardauskas - Subs: P Smith, Canning, Kear, McNally By Ian Laybourn, PA Sport A brilliant 60-metre solo try from Australian Test star Wendell Sailor inspired a fairytale comeback that earned Leeds a breathtaking victory over local rivals Castleford in the Tetley Challenge at Headingley. The Tigers were on course for a shock win when they led 21-4 early in the second half but the Brisbane Broncos winger brought the 10,000 crowd to its feet with the defining moment of an amazing game. Gathering a speculative kick from Castleford stand-off Francis Maloney in his own half, Sailor caught the visitors' defence unaware with a pacy run to the corner. Sailor, who was playing in the second of two holiday fixtures as a guest for the Rhinos, had scored 11 tries in his nine pre-Christmas rugby union games for Leeds Tykes but must have begun to wonder if he would ever get on the scoresheet for Graham Murray's team. Having drawn a blank in the Rhinos' 12-6 Boxing Day win over Halifax, Sailor had a try ruled out in the 27th minute after being unable to ground the ball and he was in danger of his cameo role being remembered for a series of handling errors. It was from his second knock-on that Ian Tonks scored the Tigers' second try to put his side 10-0 up and well on their way to an impressive success. But Sailor's 56th-minute try put a new complexion on the game as Leeds, nervous and error-prone in the first half, suddenly clicked into top gear, running in four tries in the last 15 minutes. Captain Iestyn Harris was unable to convert any of his side's six tries but he kept his nerve when Leeds were awarded a penalty in the 77th minute to put his team in front for the first time. Castleford had beaten Leeds in two of their three meetings in 1998 and they made the best possible start to 1999 with a try from prop Dean Sampson within two minutes. Harris had split the Tigers defence to get loose forward Kevin Sinfield over for a first-half try but Castleford, leading 10-4 at the break, looked to be in an invincible position when Gael Tallec and impressive new signing Darren Rogers crossed for further touchdowns within nine minutes of the re-start. But assistant coach Graham Steadman, in charge in the absence of Stuart Raper, will be alarmed at the way his side collapsed. Sailor began the assault and centre Adam Hughes (2), Harris and Ryan Sheridan scored the other tries that supplied the big Australian with the perfect belated Christmas present. By Ian Laybourn, PA Sport Super League newcomers Gateshead Thunder experienced defeat but won many friends as they gained their first taste of action in a pre-season friendly at Wheldon Road. Coach Shaun McRae will not have minded this narrow defeat as he took the opportunity to run the rule over no fewer than 25 of his newly-assembled squad of Australians and trialists. Castleford, with new signings Michael Eagar and Aaron Raper impressing, generally had the upper hand as the Antipodeans tried to come to terms with a cold, misty West Yorkshire evening. But Gateshead's three coachloads of spectators among the 4,120 crowd will have been encouraged by the commitment and entertainment value of their side. Epi Taione, a 19-st Tongan winger Gateshead hope will turn out to be another Va'aiga Tuigamala, was unable to make much of an impression but Thunder were well served by established Australian first-graders of the calibre of Kerrod Walters, the former Test hooker, and Illawarra pair Will Robinson and Craig Wilson. A seventh-minute try from winger Matt Daylight cancelled out an earlier effort from Castleford captain Adrian Vowles but the Tigers crucially scored their second try through Danny Orr just before half-time to give them a decisive 12-4 interval lead. The Yorkshiremen threatened to run away with the game in the second half but the Thunder defence remained committed and they sensed an upset when prop forward Andrew Hick touched down on 65 minutes, only for Danny Ellison to grab Castleford's third try just before the end. The only sour note for the new boys was an injury to Welsh student international Stuart Singleton, who was carried off on a stretcher in the second half, while full-back Steve Collins was despatched to the sin bin for 10 minutes for a professional foul. By Steven Baker, PA Sport Castleford took the first steps on the road to Wembley with a second-half points blitz of Hull at Wheldon Road. The Tigers trailed 12-8 in first-half stoppage time but Brad Davis' first try of the afternoon, together with Ian Tonks' conversion, gave Cas the interval advantage. And after the break Stuart Raper's side moved up a gear, Jason Flowers, Davis and the impressive Danny Orr crossing within 11 minutes of each other to put the hosts - who scored 22 unanswered points - in complete control. Castleford beat Leeds and Bradford en route to the Challenge Cup quarter-finals last season and if they can reproduce today's fine attacking form throughout the competition they may be on course for their first trip to the twin towers since 1992. And in stand-off Orr they may have the man who can steer them to a place at Wembley on May 1. The 20-year-old impressed Perth Western Reds so much during the ill-fated World Club Championship two seasons ago that they were interested in signing him. But he stayed with Cas and today, at half-back alongside Davis, he showed just how bright a prospect he is. He scored one try, set up two more with clever kicks and gave a fine all-round performance to engineer victory for his side. But while Orr helped send the majority of the 6,107 crowd home happy it was a miserable return to Wheldon Road for Michael Smith, who left Cas in the winter, while the Sharks' sorry 1999 continued. Friendly defeats to Dewsbury and Sheffield, together with a draw against York, had not been the best preparation for Hull and they now have three weeks before their next competitive game - their Super League IV opener at Wigan. It had all started so well for Peter Walsh's men, with Steve Prescott's try and conversion putting them in front inside eight minutes. Darren Rogers, on his debut, and former Hull favourite Richard Gay crossed to put Cas in front but Martin Hall - making his bow for the Humbersiders - grabbed a try to give his side the lead again. However, Davis pounced in the third minute of injury time - added on because of an injury to referee Robert Connolly - and the floodgates opened. They turned a 12-8 deficit into a 30-12 advantage in the space of 20 minutes and Hull could not come back. Flowers' second try was sandwiched in between touchdowns by Prescott, who also landed three goals, and David Baildon, while eight points from the boot of Ian Tonks sealed Castleford's triumph. By PA Sport Battling York gave an excellent account of themselves before being worn down in the second half by super league Castleford in the Silk Cut Challenge Cup fifth round. The Northern Ford Premiership side were only 4-2 behind until four minutes before half time and tackled heroically throughout to restrict the Tigers to four tries. Castleford's match winner was stand-off Danny Orr who had a lively game and landed six goals from six kicks. The Tigers had a fourth minute let-off when York full-back Jamie Benn had a touchdown ruled out for a double movement. Orr put Castleford ahead with two penalty goals but the Wasps were by no means overawed. They pulled back two points when ex-Castleford player Benn kicked a 20th minute penalty goal. Castleford found it difficult to break down a well-organised York defence until Orr did the trick in the 36th minute with a delightful run that created a try for half-back partner Brad Davis, which Orr converted to put the Tigers 10-2 up. They finally broke York's resistance in the 56th minute when Davis and Ian Tonks combined to make the opening for Australian centre Michael Eagar to go over. Eight minutes later Davies and Orr made the opening for Francis Maloney to collect Castleford's third touchdown. Their final try came two minutes from time when hooker Lee Harland forced his way over. Castleford's Eagar was placed on report in the 47th minute for a challenge on York prop Craig Booth. © PA Sporting Life Castleford stand-off Danny Orr landed two penalty goals in the last four minutes as Tigers snatched a dramatic late victory over Super League new boys Wakefield. The promoted Wildcats looked set for a surprise win, especially when the home side had prop Dean Sampson sent off 11 minutes from time for flattening Wakefield's Gary Price. The visitors took a 21st-minute lead when Lee Harland's pass was intercepted 15 metres out by second row Willie Poching who raced over. Castleford hit back six minutes later when Orr and Richard Gay combined to put centre Francis Maloney in for a touchdown which Orr goaled. Trinity made it 6-6 three minutes before half-time with a penalty goal from full-back Andy Hodgson after Sampson was sin-binned for obstruction. Orr nosed the Tigers in front with a penalty goal eight minutes into the second half but the Tigers were rocked in the 57th minute when Wakefield half-backs Shane Kenward and Glen Tomlinson made the opening for centre Kevin Crowthers to go in. Orr missed a good chance to level the scores when he failed with a 64th-minute penalty goal attempt after Wakefield skipper Tony Kemp was sin-binned for obstruction. But Castleford came back to get the edge despite Sampson's dismissal. Orr landed a 76th-minute penalty after Kemp was penalised for interference at a play-the-ball and was on target again in the last minute after Kenward was adjudged offside. By Ian Laybourn, PA Sport Former Salford favourite Darren Rogers knocked his old club off the Wembley trail with a pair of tries in a pulsating Silk Cut Challenge Cup quarter-final at Wheldon Road. Rogers, who was Salford's top tryscorer last season, denied Andy Gregory's men a third successive semi-final appearance as the Reds paid for some indiscipline by their captain David Hulme. Second rower Hulme, at 35 the oldest player in Super League, was twice sent to the sin bin for interference at the play-the-ball and each time Castleford punished their 12-man visitors with tries. Four tries in the final quarter perhaps flattered the home side but the Tigers' first semi-final for five years was never in doubt from the moment man-of-the-match Danny Orr kicked them into a seventh-minute lead. They always had too much flair and penetration for a Salford side that badly missed injured play-making forward Darren Brown. Rogers, the lanky left winger whose hat-trick of tries helped Salford to a 36-18 win at Wheldon Road the last time these two teams met in the Cup two years ago, ended a sparkling handling move to score the first try on 20 minutes. Reds stand-off Steve Blakeley pulled four points back with a couple of penalties and Australian Garen Casey, who was switched from centre to loose forward to compensate for the absence of Brown, was a constant threat to the home side. But Brad Davis and Richard Gay almost scored tries before half-time as the Tigers began to get on top and the visitors had a let-off when Gay had a try disallowed within a minute of the re-start for a forward pass. Orr's third penalty, following Hulme's second sin-binning, re-established his side's six-point advantage and Castleford stretched their led on the hour when centre Francis Maloney sidestepped through the Reds defence and sprinted 70 metres for a glorious solo try. Orr then came into his own to carve out further tries for Rogers and impressive hooker Aaron Raper and he took his goal tally to five in the process. Salford full-back Gary Broadbent grabbed a consolation try on 73 minutes, to which Blakeley added his third goal, but Castleford had the final say when Davis touched down for a fifth try in injury time. |
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