Castleford Tigers Scholars 28 Bradford Bulls Scholars 12

Castleford Finish Strong to Overpower Bradford in Spirited Contest

Castleford produced a composed and increasingly confident performance to claim a 28–12 victory over Bradford, overcoming early pressure from a powerful visiting pack and finishing with a flourish in the final minutes.

Bradford signalled their intentions from the opening tackles, driving hard through the middle and forcing Castleford to absorb early pressure. After a cagey settling period, Castleford gained momentum through a forward pass call and a penalty, setting the platform for the first breakthrough. A clever chip over the line sparked a footrace that winger Dylan Afoa?Peterson won by inches, opening the scoring.

However, Castleford immediately handed Bradford field position from the restart with an interception. The visitors capitalised, their prop charging through a gap from fifteen metres to level the scores at 4–4.

Castleford responded with determined goal?line defence before a moment of quality on 20 minutes. Jack Bramley broke cleanly and linked with Ronnie Hanchett, who returned the pass for Bramley to score under the posts. Millen Deravairere converted for a 10–4 lead.

Bradford hit back on 33 minutes after a charge down created broken play. Although Castleford halted the first surge, Bradford eventually found a runner who stepped through several tackles to narrow the gap to 10–8.

Castleford forced a late drop out but couldn’t convert, while Bradford’s winger was bundled into touch just before the break. The half ended finely balanced, with Castleford needing to contain Bradford’s offloading forwards and find more fluency in attack.

Bradford struck first after the restart, moving the ball slickly to the left and finishing in the corner for a 10–12 lead—their first of the match.

The setback ignited Castleford. From the kick off, Bradford failed to deal with a high ball, and Castleford shifted quickly to the right where Joe Sharp crossed to restore the lead at 14–12.

Sensing momentum, Castleford intensified their defensive pressure, producing two dominant gang tackles that forced a drop out. The resulting set saw the ball worked wide again for Afoa-Peterson to claim his second try in the corner.

Just two minutes later, another high ball troubled Bradford. Castleford regained possession and Lennon Walsh powered through to score under the posts. Deravairere’s conversion stretched the lead to 24–12, and the sense grew that Castleford had finally subdued Bradford’s earlier threat.

Bradford still posed danger and mounted a strong attack, only to be held up over the line. The defensive effort left two Castleford players down and forced from the field, while Harry Lee battled through clear pain to rejoin the defensive line.

In the final minute, Castleford sealed the win with a well constructed move. Fullback Fletcher Sheldrake shaped to use winger Leo Hibbert outside him, sold the dummy, and darted over to complete a 28–12 victory.