Warrington Wolves humiliated Castleford Tigers as they ran in 12 tries to keep up their unbeaten start to Super League.
Wire ran out as 72-6 winners with Kelepi Tanginoa scoring four as Sam Burgess’ side ran riot against a hapless Castleford side, who were off the pace from minute one.
Winger Matty Ashton made his first appearance in over 300 days and reminded fans what they had missed by scoring two tries in the opening 15 minutes, before completing his hat-trick in the 76th minute.
Semi Valemei’s score ensured it wasn’t a whitewash but it was a long afternoon for the Tigers who will be left soul-searching.
We’ve picked out some of the key talking points from Warrington’s huge 72-6 win over Castleford Tigers.
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Warrington Wolves v Castleford Tigers talking points
Dire Tigers
There are always two elements when a team wins by such a margin. Were the victors incredible or were the losers woeful? Usually the answer is a little bit of both and whilst Warrington certainly deserve plaudits, Castleford rolled over and had their belly tickled.
Castleford were simply horrific for the opening 20 minutes and at 20-0 by that point, the game was already over. A Semi Valemei score offered some hope but Warrington’s charge would continue with Castleford simply making too many errors and being dominated by the speed of Wire’s attack.
Questions were asked of the pack before the season and it’s evident that they’re not big enough up front to earn respect from opponents, with Wire able to roll them on the back of their quick ruck speed.
Starting the second-half with a forward pass on their first set perhaps surmised the performance and after just one win from their opening five league games, the pressure is mounting at Cas with next week’s game against Bradford looking must-win.
Unbeaten Wire
They may not be top of Super League on account of the fact they’ve had a bye already but Warrington Wolves remain unbeaten this season and today was their best performance yet, with Wire keeping their foot on the throat throughout.
Sam Burgess made the brave call to drop Marc Sneyd and he was massively rewarded and with stars such as Cai Taylor-Wray still to return, the question of if it’s their year will surely arise soon. Bigger tests are still to come but you can only beat what is in front of you, something Wire have done every game so far this year.
Ashton returns after 314 days
Named in a Wire squad for the first time since May last year, it’s fair to say the wait was worth it. Matty Ashton was declared by captain George Williams as the ‘best in Super League’ before the match and he proved that in the match.
His first carry of the game was met with rapturous applause from the home fans inside the Halliwell Jones Stadium, with that applause heightening when Ashton won a penalty at the play the ball.
The winger scored two inside the opening 15 minutes and then completed the hat-trick late on but everything in between was near perfect as well, and highlighted what a huge boost Wire will get with him back in the picture.
Changing of the guard
Matty Ashton’s return caught the eye when the teams were confirmed but Marc Sneyd’s absence was also notable and it was confirmed by Sam Burgess pre-match on the BBC that Sneyd’s omission was a selection call.
He explained: “Sneydy misses out, we’ve challenged him on a couple of areas of his game that hopefully he’ll get better at and fight his way back into the side.”
The man who he has to wrestle that position back off is teenager Ewan Irwin, who had an exceptional game and could well be Wire’s number seven for the remainder of the season.
Kelepi Tanginoa
Not many second-rowers score four tries in a game and few will have an easier four-piece than Kelepi Tanginoa with two of his three scores simply a case of picking the ball up and grounding it.
His first saw him literally just have to ground the ball following an error whilst his third did at least require him to scoop up Ravalawa’s knock-on, however, it was his second try that was most impressive as he ran over the top of Cas half Tom Weaver.
It wasn’t just his try-scoring accolades that impressed but his dominant ball-carrying throughout with the second-rower putting in his best performance yet in a Wire shirt and recapturing his form of 2024.
BBC Blunder
Albert Hopoate raced under the sticks, the kick was about to be taken and then the BBC coverage cut out with an error screen shown for just over five minutes. Coverage did return but it returned with Sky Sports’ feed instead before the BBC commentary team eventually returned.
For a broadcaster who only showcase 15 Super League games per year, their quality has been questioned of late and today was yet another example that rugby league coverage in the UK is not up to the standard that fans deserve.
With the TV contracts set to expire at the end of the season, it remains to be seen if the BBC will retain any rights to live matches but if they do then fans will surely be demanding a better overall product.
It’s four from four for @WarringtonRLFC 🐺#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/VCkd1mkmpK
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) March 21, 2026
