Castleford Tigers head coach Danny McGuire picked out positives despite admitting he was “frustrated and emotionally a bit angry” after his side’s Challenge Cup exit.
The Tigers were the only Super League side to be defeated in Round Three of the Challenge Cup as they fell to an 18-16 defeat against Championship favourites Bradford Bulls on a wet and miserable Odsal track.
It was a track that the hosts played far better, especially in the first half when questions were asked over whether Castleford wanted to be there as the opening exchanges saw them concede an early try before falling to a 17-0 deficit by the half-time hooter.
Two quickfire tries just before the hour mark got the Super League side back in the game with the Tigers’ second-half performance markedly better, however, the Bulls stretched the lead to one converted score through a James Meadows’ drop goal – a deficit that couldn’t be surmounted despite Tex Hoy’s late unconverted try.
Whilst it’s the first competitive loss of Danny McGuire’s tenure as head coach, it’s the club’s third loss under his tutelage with pre-season displays against Wakefield Trinity and Hull FC also sparking concern. Speaking post-match to BBC Radio Leeds, McGuire argued that his side failed to ‘respect’ the game with their first-half performance particularly disappointing.
“Disappointing,” he responded when asked for his initial thoughts, before adding: “I thought we dipped our toe in to start the game and didn’t really respect the game with some of the decisions that we made, especially when we had the ball.
“We then didn’t back it up defensively so if you want to try and promote the ball and offload in these conditions then you’ve got to be able to defend your line and we let a couple of soft tries in and a breakaway try before half time.”
“Don’t know if I can repeat that on the radio” – Castleford Tigers boss reveals expletive-filled half-time team talk
Those opening exchanges certainly left viewers questioning which team was the Super League outfit with Bradford’s execution and effort far exceeding that of Castleford, however, a stronger second 40 minutes left the Tigers boss with pride and a platform to build from.
McGuire explained: “I’m frustrated but on the flip side of it, I’m proud of the character that they showed in the second half to fight and scrap and get back in to give themselves a chance.
“There’s a bit of me that is a bit frustrated and emotionally a bit angry but there’s a bit that says ‘Look boys, you showed some grit and character to get back into the game’, so we’ve got something to work with.”
Given the marked improvement in the second half, McGuire was asked to recall his half-time team talk, something he claimed that he could not repeat on the radio.
The Tigers boss responded: “I don’t know if I can repeat it on the radio, sorry. I just told them that I was disappointed and some of the stuff we’d spoken about doing, we weren’t doing.
“I thought Bradford played tougher than us and I was angry that could happen and I told the boys that.
“We lacked a little bit of discipline and didn’t execute with offloads and the ball hitting the floor then we didn’t want to put our body in front. They scored a barge over try with the first and I just think we were a little bit off, especially in that first half.”
He also conceded that he did not even care about the result by half-time but simply wanted some “character and passion and care”, all three of which he got.
McGuire explained: “I actually said that I wasn’t bothered about the result and that I just wanted them to show some character and passion and care and they did. So for me, I can go away and reflect and know they care.
“We just keep working.”
He will take his side to his former home of Craven Park on Friday night with Castleford Tigers facing what he argued was the toughest Super League start possible given Hull KR’s strong home form.
