Friday 19 December 2014 09:43, UK
So that’s it. Having started out way back in the winter months of last year, this season ended with three successive defeats. It was a tough way to finish, particularly as we had been one good result away from being crowned minor premiers.
Instead defeat in Perpignan left us with a tougher path to the Grand Final. We had top spot in our grasp, but we just weren’t good enough on the day to beat Catalan Dragons.
They went pretty hard on us and we couldn’t go with them, we simply never managed to get a stranglehold on that game at all. We went there with history in our hands, knowing we could be the first Castleford team to finish first, but we were outplayed on the day.
We restored some credibility in that Warrington game with our performance, but it wasn’t credibility that we wanted to finish up with.
It was a tough challenge to then come back from Catalan and have a relatively short preparation for a trip to St Helens at the start of the playoffs, though I felt we actually nailed our build-up to that game.
Despite that, we came up against a really good semi-final team and fell short. We felt we were actually right in that game at Langtree Park in the first half, but were taught a harsh lesson by Saints about how you have to play for the full 80. Every minute counts when you’re in a playoff tie.
It’s an old cliché, and a bit of an annoying one, but it is different footy in the post season. We didn’t really adapt to it, leading to a very disappointing, frustrating result in that opening round. We were really angry with ourselves because we had worked really hard all year to get two cracks at it, but that wasn’t meaning we wanted to rely on that second opportunity.
I felt we played knockout footy for much longer in the next game against Warrington, and we had turned the momentum back when we got to within two points during the early stages of the second half. Then Warrington scored, and the impetus was lost.
If we had finished our season with that loss to St Helens, then it would have tormented us throughout the off-season. We had a much, much better crack at it against the Wolves, but just couldn’t stay in that arm wrestle for quite long enough.
We restored some credibility in that Warrington game with our performance, but it wasn’t credibility that we wanted to finish up with.
It is not an excuse, but it’s fair to say our exertions in the cup probably caught up with us in the closing weeks. From leading up to the semi-final against Widnes, everything was focused on that competition, and even the week after the final at Wembley people were still talking about it.
But you have to turn around immediately and start playing again, something that is tough to do. It’s even more difficult when it comes off the back of losing what, for most of the squad, was the biggest game of their careers so far. Andy Lynch had done it before, and Michael Shenton had played in a Grand Final for Saints, but for the rest it was the pinnacle. Win, lose or draw that has to have an effect.
It also seems that Leeds, the side that beat us to lift the trophy, suffered a little too since their success in the final. Perhaps having the final of the Challenge Cup so close to the playoffs is something that can be looked at in the future.
Looking back now on the season as a whole, there are mixed emotions. Everybody wants to make the top four or at least the top eight, at the start of the season. The same goes for the Challenge Cup - the goal for every team entered into it is to reach the final.
We achieved all those things, and that is massive for the Tigers considering where we were at just 12 months previously. To finish in the top four shows real consistency throughout the year, and on reflection is the proof that we had a remarkable season.
On the other hand, though, there is of course a tinge of disappointment. The expectations from within, from the group and from everyone involved at the club, had grown with each month that passed. We didn’t just fluke our way into the position we finished in, we didn’t just win a couple of games on the bounce and end up in fourth.
We got outplayed in our two playoff ties by two very, very good semi-final teams. It’s disappointing, but we will look back with pride on this season, immense pride in fact at the leap the Tigers made. Daryl Powell, our coach, said as much after the loss to the Wolves, declaring that we had put Castleford back on the rugby league map.
Success has its pitfalls, of course. With more victories comes greater attention, meaning also greater interest, and everyone wants to get a piece of you. Other clubs have come in and signed members of our squad away, but on the flip-side our achievements in 2014 do help when it comes to recruitment.
The guys still at Cas now will drive where we are at, then hopefully the new guys can help fill some of the gaps and also add a new dimension.
You’ll never bring in like-for-like players; instead the new faces will add different qualities. Daryl as a coach is great at getting the best out of the players he has at his disposal, whatever their style or skill-set. We will probably play a little differently next year, but the nuts and bolts, the foundations, will remain in place. The guys still at Cas now will drive where we are at, then hopefully the new guys can help fill some of the gaps and also add a new dimension.
One of those to be leaving us is Daryl Clark. The hooker has had a quite stunning season, capped off by him being named as one of the four contenders for this year’s Man of Steel award. At his age to be nominated is a huge achievement.
I wish him all the best for the future; he’s a great, great young player and also a great person to boot. He’s someone I’ve enjoyed being around both on and off the field, and I hope he goes on to win Man of Steel before heading to Warrington.
So now that’s it – time to take a break We will be back in training in the middle of November, laying those foundations in the hope of achieving greater things in 2015. Before then, though, there’s a chance to recharge the batteries and prepare for those early morning sessions in the English winter. I can’t wait…
