I need to start off by saying we were beaten by a team that played fantastic open & expansive Rugby League and who deserved to take the points. There I've said it & got that over with.
Now to move on, when Mr Smith announced his squad on Wednesday we had 3 players unavailable who would have been guaranteed a starting spot, but winning teams handle such set back's & get on with the job, much as we did against the Broncos. When we all arrived at the HJ our injury woes had been compounded by the late withdrawal of Kurt Gidley through illness. It should be noted that the Tigers were at near full strength, I am often accused on social media of being an apologist for our team & wearing Primrose & Blue tinted glasses. Perhaps sometimes I do favour our Lad's but in this review I'm not seeking to give excuses for our loss, instead I want to provide you with the reasons we lost which is different to excuses.
Key areas that Cas were better than us were the way they controlled the ruck & the fast pace that we allowed them to play the ball. We had no answer for this & could not stop the speed with which Eden & Hardaker after winning the tackle, got back on their feet and played the ball enabling their team to get a roll on. Another area we got beaten on was pace, we just didn't have the speed that the Castleford backs had & we were often left trailing in their wake. This lack of pace leads me on to another area in which we were beaten & it was energy levels. Castleford just seemed to have more energy about them, I think the reason for this is 6 days prior we played an energy sapping physical game which took a lot out of us, whilst Cas had a week off to rest up & prepare. This is not an excuse but a reason why we didn't fully compete. Some of our tackling especially our 1 on 1 tackling against Hardaker was poor . There is more than just one reason for this, yes we were tired which against the likes of former Man of Steel Zak Hardaker doesn't help. But added to the mix our technique wasn't good, again this is linked to energy levels. Another area for improvement was our reading of the game by our 2,3,4 & 5. At the time I didn't notice this but it has been pointed out to me since & after re watching the game yes our reading of the game needs improvement & our backs were out smarted by their Castleford opposite numbers. This is something that TS will need to highlight to the players concerned when they watch the video on Monday. The worrying aspect of this is it's a skill you've either got or you haven't, I don't have the skill thats why I missed it & needed to have it highlighted to me.
So to recap, we lost the game through our inability to control the Tigers ruck speed, our inability to match the energy of Castleford, our tackling technique & our miss reading of the game & Castlefords play's.
Now the positives, & there were a number. Andre Savelio is looking like he's going to be one heck of a player. We've only got him for 12 months, lets hope that he continues in the way he has started & Mr Moran & Mr Fitzpatrick sit Andre & his agent down & get pen to paper. Kevin Browns kicking game was good, as I wrote in my match preview a good kicking game is essential. Tom Lineham scored 2 tries & is starting to get his confidence back & doing what a winger is paid for & thats getting over the whitewash (thanks for that Stevo). Harvey Livett is only 19, he and Andre have the potential to be real quality.
Warrington Wolves 22 - Castleford Tigers 30
Warrington try scorers Savelio x 2 & Lineham x 2
Tigers try scorers Sene-Lafao, Hardaker, Eden x 2 & Gale.
Attendance 11,374
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