GALE PUTS THE BOOT IN
RUGBY LEAGUE ACTION Tigers get a big kick out of deadly Luke GREYHOUNDS
LUKE GALE made it nine wins on the trot for Cas against Wakefield to fire a warning shot to their Super League rivals.
This was light years away from being a vintage win and it was more crafty than classy Cas.
But the side that loves to play off-the-cuff adventurous rugby handled the conditions better.
They kept their heads in the torrential rain and held their nerve to keep their opponents at bay.
This is now five wins on the trot, after their opening day defeat by St Helens, and moves them up to third.
And it proves, in the wake of last week’s nail-biter against Leeds, that they can tough out the wins.
Gale’s drop goal was the decider in that game at Elland Road and his deadly boot was the difference here too.
Wakefield went close to opening the scoring but Anthony England’s effort was ruled out for a knock-on.
And minutes later Cas showed the home side how it should be done with Mike McMeeken producing the killer finish from a Ben Roberts pass.
Gale added the conversion and the visitors kept their foot on Trinity’s throats with more pressure on their line.
But a James Clare effort was disallowed when video replays showed he’d put a foot in touch thanks to a Ben Jones-Bishop tackle.
Gale landed his one-pointer to make it 7-0, with the first half petering out into a sodden slugfest.
Heavy rain continued to make handling difficult and it was another 20 minutes before Wakefield got on the scoresheet.
Jones-Bishop raced on to a kick from Liam Finn, the half-back then converting to stretch his scoring run to 32 games.
Successive penalties from Gale edged Cas into a five-point lead and they then hung on in the face of a late Wakefield rally.