Castleford Tigers head coach Danny McGuire has stated that he was disappointed with aspects of his team’s performance at Wakefield Trinity on Friday night but was also quick to praise Daryl Powell’s side.

The Fords were defeated 32-8 by Trinity, who were far the crisper and more expansive outfit in Luke Gale’s testimonial match. They started the game in a quicker manner and were both more clinical and more aggressive in what was a strong pre-season showing.

And for McGuire, who enters his first season as a Super League head coach in 2025, there was no hiding away from his frustrations, with the former Leeds and Hull KR half declaring, amid a measured post-match account, that his side wasn’t ‘quite at it’ with a lot of hard work still lying ahead before the big kick-off against Rovers at Craven Park next month.

READ MORE: Wakefield Trinity show promise in win over Castleford on Luke Gale's big night

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Speaking to Rugby League Live, he said: "I thought Wakey played well. They were good. I thought they were physical, and they played some really nice stuff with the ball. They challenged us.

"I don’t think we were quite at it, and I’m a bit disappointed. I probably expected a bit more from us, if I’m being honest. It was our first hit out, really, so it’s hard to be too critical, but I felt like we probably didn’t do ourselves justice. I know it’s a friendly and there’s not a lot riding on the outcome, but there were some things that we wanted to try and get out of the game that we didn’t get."

He continued: "It’s good for us, though, I think. We’ve had a smack on the nose, and that tells me that there’s still plenty of hard work ahead and plenty of things that we need to tidy up before it gets real. There’s a bit of frustration, and there’s a bit of disappointment, but there’s also a sense of we know where we are, and we know we can be better, and we will be better. But again, Wakey were good. Let’s give them some credit. They were good.”

Pointing to one positive, McGuire was content with an element of his side's defence. However, the edges were a concern for the head coach, who saw his side burnt on both flanks, particularly the right edge, with Cam Scott and Lachlan Walmsley posing a threat.

"I thought we did some okay things, and our attitude to defence was good, but technically we were poor," McGuire added. "We made some really poor decisions on the edge and probably didn’t connect up the physicality with the technical side of the game, and Wakey punished us.

"When they got their opportunities, they took them, whereas we had three good ball sets in the whole game, so we didn’t build any pressure or get any chance to show any glimpses of attack. When we did, we looked alright."

Next in action against Hull FC on Saturday, February 1, for Joe Westerman’s testimonial match, McGuire is now looking for a response from his side. He added: "There are loads of things for us to work on, but again, I thought our attitude to defence was pretty good for most of the game.

“However, we turned the ball over near our line on the first tackle twice, and that hurts you. We’re learning, and we’ll get there. We’ll keep working hard. The players know where they’re at, and we’ll get back on the training field on Monday and fix up some of those things."

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