Castleford were rusty but will get better, says Daryl Powell

Castleford coach Daryl Powell admitted his players were rusty after the five-month lay-off but says they will get better as they come to grips with the new rules.

The Tigers were defeated 40-14 by Catalans at Headingley on Saturday, but Powell insists his side will improve as they get used to the game’s new rules.

Powell said: “We never got our game together. Playing last week probably outweighed anything else.

“We’ve had a look at the six-again rule now and what they look like. We practiced it in training but to get out on the field was pretty important.

“That will benefit us and hopefully we’ll have some more players to come back in next week.

“We were without (Liam) Watts today and (Nathan) Massey didn’t pull out until early this morning so we were a little bit skinny there today.

“The boys worked manfully but some players hadn’t played for a long time.”

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