1) Daryl Clark
Clark put in an instrumental performance against his former side to earn top spot this week. He made 30 tackles and missed just two, while his time in possession was outstanding - 11 carries which made up 140 metres, averaging 13 metres per carry - an incredible stat. Clark got an assist for King's second try courtesy of a good run out wide. He was partly to blame for a silly penalty conceded early in the second half, but other than that he was exemplary as always.
2) Toby King
Two tries for King and an all-round good display earn him 2nd spot this week. Both tries were neat finishes out wide and he is bang in form in terms of performance and scoring. With Goodwin and Mamo both having injury issues, and Atkins struggling for performance, King is our first-choice centre right now.
3) Chris Hill
40 tackles for Hill, a terrific return. His carries were also good, averaging 8 metres per carry. Hill has really cleaned up his act in recent weeks and has cut out the penalties which had been costing the team. He also played Ratchford in to score, and would've had an assist to his name if Ratchford hadn't wasted the opportunity.
4) Blake Austin
While there was no personal glory in front of the try line this week, for the first time in eight matches, it was still a good all-round display from the stand off, who registered two assists. There was talk of him being hurt in training during the week, which perhaps explains why he played within himself a bit. He was unlucky not to score a try and would've had a hat-trick if his pass out wide to Jack Johnson was slightly more accurate.
5) Ben Currie
Currie made 44 tackles, which is an extremely impressive number. As well as this, he scored his own try in the second half when he found a way over from an Austin pass. He was involved in the prevention of a Cas try in the first half when he and Ryan Atkins held Tuoyo Egodo up on the line. Was a little sloppy for Cas' two second half tries but other than that this was a good performance.
6) Jason Clark
Clark came on from the bench and had a positive impact on proceedings, seeing a fair bit of the ball and occupying good positions. I thought he was unlucky when the referee awarded Cas a penalty after Clark had forced their defender over the line.
7) Matt Davis
It was a start at loose forward for Davis and he did a sound job, seeing a fair bit of the ball, though struggling to make much yardage with it. There was one occasion where he should've passed to his left rather than gone for the line, but other than that one decision he was very good again.
8) Sitaleki Akauola
Akauola is certainly playing himself back into contention and becoming a useful player for Steve Price. Again, he came on and impacted the game, making a good number of tackles and working hard. Would've liked to have seen a little more from him going forward.
9) Mike Cooper
After being guilty of conceding possession cheaply which led to Castleford's try, Cooper made amends by scoring a try of his own after a brilliant run to fend off four defenders and touch down. The error was a rare one for Cooper and the rest of his game was solid.
10) Jack Hughes
A consistent display from Hughes against Castleford, he looked after the ball well and made 84 metres up with his nine carries - a respectable figure. His tackling was very good, too.
11) Joe Philbin
Philbin made a decent impact on the game coming on from the bench, and is becoming a very good tackler. His carries with the ball weren't great but he did an okay job overall.
12) Stefan Ratchford
This wasn't Ratchford's best game, though it was far from his worst. His goal-kicking was pretty good, though there was a relatively simple one that he missed. He was flappy in defence, missing a tackle for Egodo's try, and would've scored himself in the first half but for a poor error in front of the line. He made a few tackle busts though and his running with the ball was fine.
13) Jack Johnson
Johnson's inclusion in the team was a massive surprise, as he wasn't named in the 19-man squad, and hadn't made an appearance this year. He ran hard with the ball and didn't drop any of the high kicks, even when targeted, though did look a little lightweight in the tackle, missing three and only making one.
14) Josh Charnley
Charnley has been very quiet the last few weeks, hasn't he? He saw very little of the ball, though that was partly because Toby King went for the line rather than passed wide, as there was so little Castleford pressure on him. His tackling was fairly good though, but it must have been a boring night for him!
15) Declan Patton
Listen to this then folks - seven missed tackles. Crikey. He only completed 15. Sometimes his creative play is fine but defensively he is too weak. He did get an assist to his name for Cooper's try, though.
16) Ryan Atkins
Where do I even begin with this shambles of a performance? Atkins made three errors - all of which were dropped balls when in front of the line, while twice he went for the line with the ball in hand rather than passing to a better-placed option. He also failed to score a try that seemed certain. Made a good tackle on Egodo early on to prevent a try but everything else was a disaster.
17) Harvey Livett
Only ranked bottom because he had hardly any time on the field at all.
So, that concludes my player rankings. Let me know your thoughts on them and if there's any you disagree with. It was a good night at Castleford as the Wire defeated the 2017 Grand Finalists in a relatively comfortable game. Check out my match report and don't forget to return to the blog this week for my build-up to the Wigan Challenge Cup game, which will include a combined Wire/Wigan team and my Sweet 17 piece.
It's always our year.
Daniel (@aloosewire)
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