Castleford Tigers' centenary celebrations spoiled as power cut causes delay and Catalans run rampant - Serious About Rugby League
Serious About Rugby League · Sam Brocksom · 2026-08-28T22:03:36+00:00 · nguồn gốc
Castleford Tigers’ centenary game was spoiled by both a poor performance and stadium issues, with their game against Catalans Dragons needing to be delayed for half an hour.
A power cut caused floodlight failures 56 minutes into the contest, with minds casting back to another clash in West Yorkshire earlier this year, when Wakefield Trinity versus Leeds Rhinos in the Challenge Cup was also delayed on account of a similar issue.
The home side got the win in that one but the same couldn’t be said tonight as the Tigers lost 34-6 in what was their final home game of what has been a difficult season.
Castleford, who are celebrating 100 years of the club, conceded two tries in the opening 20 minutes, with Toby Sexton and Edenn Rogers-Smith scoring, before Leigh loanee Lazarus Vaalepu added a score to halve the deficit heading into the break.
In the 16 minutes played before the power cut, Leo Darrelatour added a try to give Catalans a 16-6 lead. Following the resumption of play, Alrix Da Costa, Lewis Dodd and Sexton again added tries to make for a 34-6 defeat in their milestone result.
The defeat and scoreline itself is a bad look on what has already been a bad season but the powercut seems to serve as an omen for the club’s struggles, with the Tigers coachless and now sure to be sucked back into the battle near the bottom.
They had hoped to place eighth on the table, a goal that was set in recent weeks, but tonight’s loss ends those chances and actually makes them a chance of dropping further down the table by season end.
As Castleford’s own X account put it: “Lights go out on 2026 home campaign,” with those lights never truly shining bright in 2026.
56′ Stoppage in play. Looks like there’s been a power surge as all the lights have gone off in the stadium. The home crowd see the funny side as they get their phone torches out, just like being back in 1926 (6-16)
— Castleford Tigers (@CTRLFC) August 28, 2026