Season Re-cap: Castleford Tigers

25 Jul 2020

Where were we….

The Tigers 2019 season ended in the second round of the play-offs to Salford Red Devils who, inspired by Man of Steel Jackson Hastings and Niall Evalds, who will be playing his rugby in a Tigers shirt next season, proved too much on a chilly night at the AJ Bell.

Cas were outshone that night – but Daryl Powell’s side had showed glimpses of their huge potential at times in the 2019 season, not least by beating Challenge Cup winners Warrington Wolves 14-12 in the opening round of the play-offs.

The off-season saw Daryl Powell recruit five new faces ahead of the 2020 campaign; George Griffin (Salford Red Devils), Tyla Hepi (Toulouse Olympique XIII), Derrell Olpherts (Salford Red Devils), Sosaia Feki (Cronulla Sharks) and Danny Richardson (St Helens).

A highly anticipated, historic opening round fixture against Sonny Bill Williams’ Toronto Wolfpack got their 2020 season started. Under a fair amount of scrutiny, it was a test they comfortably overcame with a 28-10 win at Headingley.

Tigers looked strong before the Super League season paused - over the following six rounds, home wins came in big games against Wigan Warriors, local rivals Wakefield Trinity and champions St Helens (the last Super League game before lockdown). Those were joined by an away win at Hull KR in Round 5.

The only blemishes on their season so far have been a narrow defeat to Wolves and a 36-18 humbling to an impressive Catalans Dragons side in Perpignan, which was Israel Folau’s debut.

Head coach Daryl Powell will be hoping his team can pick up where they left off in March and push for a top four play-off spot.

📓 👨????? Tip Sheet@CTRLFC are renowned for flowing attacking play, but how does Daryl Powell coach this to his team?

With never before seen insight watch him take you through his game plan 👉 https://t.co/iU4xSvu8DQ pic.twitter.com/BDZcI0sjWc
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) June 6, 2020

League Standings:

Currently joint second, with only points difference separating them from league leaders Wigan, the Tigers will be happy with their strong start to the 2020 season. With five wins from seven, a talented squad, and some clear evidence that their new signings have settled in, Cas have plenty to be excited about ahead of the season resumption.