Kid kicker clinches it
CALUM TURNER’S deadly boot helped clinch Castleford a dramatic win over their top-four rivals.
The 19-year-old didn’t even know he was playing until a few hours before the game.
But the young Tigers full-back, who was called in because of injuries, rose to the challenge of his first start in fine style.
After going over on seven minutes, two minutes after a try by team-mate Mike McMeeken, he then set up a score for Jy Hitchcox.
Bite
He also kicked all six of his goal attempts – compared to three misses from Warrington’s kicker Harvey Livett.
The win puts Castleford on level points with third-placed Warrington, with a game in hand, and two points behind faltering Wigan.
The Wolves had looked pretty soft in defence early on but suddenly discovered their bite in a lethal eight-minute spell.
Tyrone Roberts went in at the corner after Josh Charnley did well to palm back a Kev Brown kick. Then Stefan Ratchford took advantage of a loose Chris Hill pass to race in, followed by some quick thinking from Daryl Clark.
Danger man Clark then hammered home their advantage by creating a fourth try for Sitaleki Akauola.
It was an onslaught that could have crushed lesser teams but the Tigers struck back with Hitchcox’s effort.
A third conversion, plus a penalty, from Turner made it all square at 20-20 at half-time, but Warrington were soon on top again.
Josh Charnley finished off superbly in the corner, while Adam Milner was in the bin for Cas for a late tackle on Roberts.
But, once the Tigers were back to full strength, they went hunting down the Wolves again.
Two converted tries in four minutes from new signing Quentin LauluTogagae and Oliver Holmes gave them an eight-point lead. But back came Warrington as they searched for a twelfth win in their last 13 games.
Charnley – their lucky charm in that run – grabbed a second to take his tally to 16 in 12 games since returning to league from union.
Bryson Goodwin added the conversion to cut the gap to two points, but Castleford sealed the win with a late penalty from Milner.