6 conclusions from Castleford Tigers’ win over Catalans Dragons: Alex Mellor, Liam Horne, Jacob Miller..
Castleford Tigers’ fine form of late continued again on Sunday with yet another victory, this time a hard-earned but ultimately deserved triumph over Catalans Dragons.
Craig Lingard’s side raced into an 18-0 lead before being pegged back level in the final stages of the second half. However, Tex Hoy’s try ultimately proved to be the difference on a day when there were plenty of talking points.
So let’s get into them, shall we? Tigers fans, you’re going to like this.
The Liam Horne deal already looks a masterstroke
Doing your business early always comes with a fraction of risk attached to it but Castleford have played a blinder with Liam Horne’s new deal, it has to be said.
Horne is excelling at hooker in the absence of Paul McShane, and his two brilliant tries got the Tigers off to a great start on Sunday afternoon. Pinning him down for 2025 is a shrewd move because if he carries on like this, there will be suitors paying attention.
The less said about Horne’s expletive-laden post-match interview though, the better!
We’ve been sleeping on Alex Mellor
We absolutely love a player dipping under the radar in brilliant form: and it’s our duty to tell you that we’ve all been ignoring Alex Mellor for a good few weeks, now.
Mellor has had a pretty tough couple of years; falling out of favour at Leeds Rhinos and then struggling to settle at Castleford. But this is a player who was one of the best in his position during his years at Huddersfield Giants, and Mellor looks a great asset for Lingard’s Tigers all of a sudden.
Mellor was once again brilliant both with and without the ball on Sunday. He epitomises everything the Tigers do well; underlined by his late chase to pin Arthur Mourgue in-goal. He’s one of the form edge players in Super League right now.
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Catalans need more than Sam Tomkins
The Dragons will, in all eventuality, make the play-offs when all is said and done: but goodness, they don’t look anything like title contenders at present.
That’s understandable on a couple of fronts; injuries and departure of key players, both at the end of last season and throughout the course of 2024. Incredibly, they’re only three wins off the top but the return of Sam Tomkins likely won’t be enough to transform their title fortunes.
They were pretty poor, all things being equal, here and will hope Tomkins can inspire something pretty special. If not, the prospect of a second consecutive Grand Final is out of the question.
A Tom Johnstone worry
Not a great weekend for Wakefield Trinity supporters. A first defeat of the season at Toulouse, their arch rivals winning again – and now, a worrying-looking injury to one of their stars for next season.
You do tend to watch with bated breath when Tom Johnstone goes down and thankfully, this didn’t seem to be a recurrence of any knee problems which have plagued his career.
But he still had to be helped from the field and supporters of both Catalans and Trinity will wait nervously for an update to see what the verdict is.
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Rowan Milnes is growing into it
Danny McGuire’s influence, perhaps? A settled run of games helping? Whatever it is: Rowan Milnes is now starting to look the part as a starting half-back in a black and amber shirt.
Alongside Jacob Miller – who is looking like Wakefield Trinity Jacob Miller once again – Milnes is flourishing. His all-round game was great again on Sunday but in particular his kicking game.
Castleford likely had plans to think about a new half-back for 2025. All of a sudden, is the answer right under their nose?
The season is going to end too early for Castleford
Three wins in a row and all of a sudden, there aren’t too many teams in better form than Castleford Tigers.
Of course, they’re not going to make the play-offs.. aren’t they? Okay, they aren’t – but if they continue in this form until the end of the season, they will not finish too far off the pace when it comes to the top six.
After a difficult start for Craig Lingard, things are beginning to fall into place for the Tigers. Right now, they would hope the season never ends.
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