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CASTLEFORD TIGERS 0 HULL KR 44 CALLUM WALKER, OneBore Stadium, Saturday ON this performance, Castleford are a club in crisis on and off the field as Hull KR simply wiped the floor with the Tigers without even needing second gear. Chants in support of Ryan Carr – who was absent in the dugout after standing down for personal reasons – echoed on the terraces before and during the game and the atmosphere at the OneBore Stadium was odd to say the least. Boos from a small section aimed at several players were unusual whilst a lack of noise from a usually bouncing Rovers away end contributed to a deathly silent feeling in West Yorkshire. On the field, Sam Hall and Jenson Windley came in for Jack Ashworth and Tom Weaver, whilst Sauaso Sue replaced Jordan Dezaria for KR. Following a turbulent week, the Tigers started brightly, forcing an early drop-out but that came to nought. And, in typical Castleford fashion, they conceded the first time they invited pressure on their own line, Jez Litten delivering a brilliant grubber to himself as Phoenix Laulu-Togaga’e found himself caught in the ruck. Ryan Hampshire converted for a 6-0 lead after 12 minutes. A cracking Krystian Mapapalangi hit on Peta Hiku, however, handed Castleford the chance and Windley crossed, only for play to be brought back for obstruction. The Robins duly punished the hosts for that error as a neat left-to-right shift saw Tom Davies fly in at the corner with the half-hour in sight. This time Hampshire missed the extras, but Rovers still led 10-0. Louis Senior’s second error invited more pressure from the visitors as the clock ran down, but KR lost their Captain’s Challenge on the stroke of half-time following Joe Burgess’ knock on. Oliver Gildart didn’t come out for the second-half as Rhyse Martin moved into the centres, but that didn’t stop Rovers from registering the first score of the second-half. As per usual, Castleford crashed immediately following the resumption with Tyrone May barging through paper-thin defence just six minutes in. Martin converted for a 16-0 lead. And it was game over when Burgess intercepted a Laulu-Togaga’e pass to run 90 metres moments later. Martin made it 22-0. Peta Hiku strode through untouched in the next set to rub salt into the wounds before May grabbed his second, charging down a terrible Daejarn Asi kick to dot down under the sticks. Martin converted both for a 34-0 lead. That made it four tries in 11 second-half minutes as once again the Tigers capitulated under any semblance of pressure. Rovers soon brought up the 40-point mark with a lovely move, May poking ahead a chip as Hiku caught and offloaded to the sprinting Davies. To sum up Castleford’s evening, Burgess caught the short kick-off with the Tigers experiencing little joy near the Rovers line. As it was, Martin latched on to a neat Burgess grubber kick through after the latter was set free by Hampshire to make it 44-0. Burgess caught another short kick-off as the Tigers persisted with their woeful decision-making. In fact, the nil to their name probably flattered Castleford given the lack of direction and vision plaguing the Tigers from minute one. Rovers, who did what they needed to do without being brilliant, withstood last-minute pressure to keep their clean sheet intact as boos rang round the OneBore at full-time. GAMESTAR: Jez Litten made Hull KR tick. GAMEBREAKER: Four Hull KR tries in 11 second-half minutes ended the game as a contest. HIGHLIGHT REEL: Joe Burgess striding home from an interception was a joy to see. ALBERT GOLDTHORPE POINTS 3 pts Jez Litten (Hull KR) 2 pts Tyrone May (Hull KR) 1 pt Dean Hadley (Hull KR) MATCHFACTS TIGERS 35 Phoenix Laulu-Togaga’e 21 Louis Senior 12 Alex Mellor 23 Krystian Mapapalangi 40 Tylor Sharpe 24 Jenson Windley 7 Tom Weaver 36 Tyler Dupree 9 Liam Hood 13 Joe Stimson 11 Jordan Lane 32 George Hirst 39 Jack Brown Subs (all used) 8 Renouf Atoni 10 George Lawler 25 Sam Hall 27 Cain Robb 18th man (not used) 15 Jack Ashworth Also in 21-man squad 18 Fletcher Rooney – Corey Sharpe – Alfie Salmon Sin bin: Mellor (60) – professional foul HULL KR 14 Jack Broadbent 2 Tom Davies 3 Peta Hiku 4 Oliver Gildart 5 Joe Burgess 34 Ryan Hampshire 7 Tyrone May 8 Sauaso Sue 9 Jez Litten 11 Dean Hadley 16 Jai Whitbread 12 James Batchelor 13 Elliot Minchella Subs (all used) 10 Tom Amone 15 Sam Luckley 17 Rhyse Martin 18 Karl Lawton 18th man (not used) 20 Jordan Dezaria Also in 21-man squad 21 Noah Booth 22 Bill Leyland 24 Jack Charles Tries: Litten (12), Davies (26, 66), May (47, 58), Burgess (51), Hiku (54), Martin (73) Goals: Hampshire 1/2, Martin 5/6 Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match Tigers: Jack Brown; Hull KR: Jez Litten SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 0-10; 0-16, 0-22, 0-28, 0-34, 0-40, 0-44 Penalty count: 6-3 Half-time: 0-10 Referee: Marcus Griffiths