We have got to be stronger mentally says Castleford Tigers' new assistant coach
New assistant coach Luke Robinson questioned the Castleford Tigers players’ mental toughness after witnessing another of their collapses in their latest Super League game.
Without playing well the Tigers were still in the fight with Catalans Dragons when coming back out to play the last 24 minutes following a lengthy delay caused by a power outage at the OneBore Stadium.
They were only 16-6 behind and could count themselves unlucky to be trailing after creating many chances that were not taken, but what followed was a complete surrender as the visitors crossed for three unanswered tries, none of which they had to work hard for.
“I’m really disappointed,” said Robinson who has stepped in to take temporary charge of the first team following the departure of Ryan Carr. “The fans came out in numbers and we should have put a good display on for them.
“There was a lot of opportunities in that first half where we could have scored some points, but you can just feel the lack of confidence within us.
“Obviously, it’s a pretty tough year for the group, as a club, but there just seems to be a lack of confidence.
"I don’t think it was a great advert for rugby league, but we had opportunities. A little more confidence, a little bit more composure and we could have posted points.
“Probably more disappointing than anything else is during that break it was only 16-6, there was only 10 points in it with 20-odd minutes to go. I know there’s been tough times in the club within the group but to capitulate like that in the last 20 minutes was really disappointing.”
Robinson added: “When things go against this group at the moment, they’ve got to find a bit of resolve and resilience.
"I know they’re had a tough year, but when things go against them we’ve got to be stronger mentally.”
The Tigers have explained what happened to cause the power outage in a statement that read: “As we are all aware, during our centenary game against the Catalan Dragons on Friday night, our stadium lights and other areas of our electrical systems failed.
“Contrary to the rumours there was no problem with the floodlights or our electrical systems, the failure was the result of an electrical fault caused by the electricity provider.
“In an attempt to restore full power during the game, the main electrical system had to be powered down and reset which meant that the stadium had to rely on emergency lighting until limited power could be restored.
"Our staff have worked throughout the weekend to repair the damage caused by the fault, and full power was restored to the stadium by the electricity provider.
"We will plan to further upgrade the electrical systems in the off season to provide more resilience should further electrical faults occur.”