Andy Last backs Castleford Tigers attack to come good

​The Tigers have scored just 96 points in nine rounds after going down 14-6 at Salford Red Devils last Thursday night, writes James O’Brien.

Castleford suffered from regular changes to the spine in 2022 and have been without key personnel for periods of this season, with full-back Niall Evalds missing four games and Gareth Widdop sitting out the recent matches against Catalans Dragons and Wakefield Trinity.

Fellow half-back Jacob Miller has been an ever-present but did not feature during pre-season, while ball-playing loose forward Joe Westerman missed the date with Salford through suspension.

"There's some quality attacking players there," said interim boss Last.

"It was Gaz Widdop's first game back after two games out with illness. The signs of his illness were probably there in the latter stages when he looked a little bit heavy-legged and tired.

"I'm sure when Milky, Gaz, Macca (Paul McShane), Westy and Niall get a run of games together, we'll certainly start firing, creating more opportunities and scoring more points.

"Joe Westerman was a big miss. You can see how influential he is from an attacking point of view. His ability to get his hands on the ball and play some shapes was a big miss for us.”

Cas will have Westerman back after suspension for their game at home to in-form surprise packages Hull KR on Friday night, but face a tough task to pick up their third win of the campaign against opponents on a run of four successive victories, including their 40-0 rout of city rivals Hull FC.

Interim Last, meanwhile, has been formally interviewed, along with other candidates, for the permanent head coach appointment and after the Salford game rated his prospects “50-50”.

Fans are still waiting for news on how the interviews went with other candidates thought to include Danny Ward, James Ford and Denis Betts.