Millward points finger at backs

Castleford coach Ian Millward has blamed his backs for their 32-26 defeat to rivals Wakefield at Magic Weekend in Manchester.

The West Yorkshire neighbours opened up an action-packed weekend at the Etihad Stadium with a thrilling contest played in searing heat. First-half tries from Vince Mellars, Ritchie Matthews, Steve Southern and Danny Washbrook gave the Wildcats a 24-20 half-time lead, with Jordan Thompson, Stuart Jones and Nick Youngquest going over for Cas. Peter Fox and Danny Orr exchanged second-half tries before Tim Smith's late score sealed victory for Wakefield. Tigers coach Millward saw improvements in his side's performance but felt they lacked a cutting edge in attack. "Our forwards were outstanding, played tough and won the battle, but we couldn't compliment it out wide, with our kicking game and execution," said Millward. "The weather was always going to indicate lots of tries and it was close, but not close enough. At 28-26, we had to nail it and they were there for the taking."