The Easter weekend Rivals round got underway on Thursday night with a bottom of the table four pointer between the Castleford Tigers and Wakefield Trinity as the two sides propping up the Super League 2023 table met at the Wheldon Road Jungle with everything at stake.

A seven point or more win for the home side would lift them ahead of Hull FC in advance of tomorrows Hull derby, while a win by a margin of twenty-seven or more would raise Trinity above the Tigers and off the bottom for the first time this season.

The bookies had made the Tigers firm favourites for the win, having given Trinity a ten point start on the coupon. Wakefield have only averaged a single converted try per game in their opening seven fixtures, having been kept scoreless on four occasions, it was beginning to look desperate for the side from WF1.

Just over two minutes had elapsed before the Tigers took the lead when after a Jack Broadbent break Paul McShane was quick to react in scooting from dummy half and ducking under the tackles after a fast play the ball to stretch for the line to score. McShane added the conversion for a 6-0 lead and the perfect start from the home side.

While showing little initiative in attack, the Trinity defence did well to halt the Tigers onslaught but when Liam Kay was held up on the Tigers line, Mason Lino put in a grubber kick towards the posts which was swallowed up by McShane who broke to the halfway line before finding Greg Eden in support to run the remaining fifty to score, ten from the uprights. McShane added the conversion for a 12-0 lead after thirty-four minutes.

Wakefield had been a clear second best, but it was a poor game between two poor sides.

Bureta Faraimo dropped a high kick on forty-four, gifting Wakefield a chance and after a set restart and a penalty Trinity scored their first points for one hundred and forty-seven minutes as Samisoni Langi ran the angle and forced the ball onto the ground. Mason Lino was unable to add the extras, his side still eight behind.

A trip from Joe Westerman, under his own sticks, saw the Tigers loose forward sin-binned on the hour mark. Wakefield opted to run the resulting penalty but couldn´t get over the whitewash.

But with an extra man, Wakefield were laying siege to the Tigers line, the home crowd audibly hushed for a period but they were reanimated on sixty-eight when the twelve men went in again.

Greg Eden was on hand to again take the Niall Evalds pass after a McShane ball steal to dive over in the corner. McShane was well off target with his conversion attempt as his side returned to a full complement with a twelve point advantage.

A superb Jacob Miller tackle denied Lee Kershaw in the dying seconds to maintain the twelve point margin and an important win.

It was a better second half showing from Trinity but they were still a distant second to a Castleford Tigers side who are themselves struggling to find any kind of form or consistency. Wakefield are now four points adrift at the bottom of the table while the Tigers have gone above Hull FC, at least until tomorrow lunchtime. Times are looking increasingly desperate for Wakefield, anchored to the bottom of the table as we reach the quarter stage of the season, they need to turn around the ship pretty quickly or the Championship looks like their likely destination.

Castleford Tigers: Evalds, Faraimo, Fonua, Turner, Eden (2T), Broadbent, Miller, Massey, McShane (T, 2G), Matagi, Griffin, Mellor, Westerman (SB on 60).  Subs: Lawler, Edwards, Mustapha, Johnson. 18th Man: Smith.

Wakefield Trinity: Dagger, Kershaw, Lyne, Langi (T), Senior, Smith, Lino, Mason, Hood, Whitbread, Hewitt, Ashurst, Pitts. Subs: Crowther, Kay, Proctor, Atoni. 18th Man: Bowes.

Half-Time: 12-0.

Full-Time: 16-4.

Score Progression: 4-0, 6-0, 10-0, 12-0 : HT : 12-4, (SB), 16-4 : FT.

Lead Exchanges: Castleford.

Referee: Marcus Griffiths.