Derrell Olpherts' four tries, plus two from Bureta Faraimo and one apiece from Suaia Matagi and Alex Sutcliffe set Cas on course for a comfortable win; Hull FC had a miserable night compounded by Connor Wynne being sin-binned twice and Ligi Sao being sent off
Friday 22 July 2022 23:18, UK
Derrell Olpherts ran in four tries as Castleford Tigers ruthlessly dispatched Hull FC 46-18 on a dismal night for the hosts in the Betfred Super League on Friday.
Olpherts' seventh-minute try had helped Castleford into a strong early lead, but a run of 18 unanswered points from the hosts turned the game on its head after the Tigers' try-scorer and Connor Wynne sin-binned following a confrontation.
Mitieli Vulikijapani, Darnell McIntosh and Danny Houghton all crossed for converted tries for the Black and Whites, yet winger Olpherts kept things interesting at the break with his second converted score which cut the Tigers' deficit to four points.
Despite Jake Mamo being sin-binned, it was all Castleford when play resumed as a double from Bureta Faraimo and one from Suaia Matagi put the Tigers in the ascendancy, with Olpherts adding two more and Alex Sutcliffe crossing as well to seal the win. Hull FC's misery, meanwhile, was compounded by Wynne's second yellow and Ligi Sao being sent off.
The visitors made a great start and, after an early Danny Richardson penalty, scored the first try through Olpherts, who collected Greg Eden's deft kick with no one around him to touch down for a converted try.
Eden was then penalised for taking Wynne out going for a Jake Connor kick and the resulting melee saw Olpherts and Wynne sent to the sin bin.
However, from the resulting penalty, Hull got themselves on the board through winger Vulikijapani, who crashed through the Castleford line after a great right to left shift from the hosts.
Hull FC then grabbed their second try in dramatic fashion. A kick from Connor looked to have evaded McIntosh, but the winger did exceptionally well to ground the ball barely inches from the dead ball line to give Hull the lead.
Suddenly it was all the Black and Whites, and they scored for a third time with ever-alert hooker Houghton catching the Tigers out on the back of a penalty and raced 40 metres untouched to score under the posts.
Castleford had the final say of the half as Olpherts grabbed his second, carrying three Hull defenders over the line in the left corner and Richardson converted to cut the gap to four at the break.
The Tigers went down to 12 men shortly after half-time when centre Mamo was sin-binned for dissent after being pulled up for an incorrect play-the-ball but it did anything but hinder the visitors, who went on to hit the home side with four tries in a devastating spell while he was off the field.
Former USA international Faraimo scored twice in two minutes and Olpherts completed his hat-trick either side of a try from forward Matagi as the Tigers ran riot on both edges despite being down a man.
Frustrations boiled over for Hull, with Wynne being sin-binned again for a melee in back play and Hull were down to 11 men when forward Sao was sent off for a high shot on Mamo to compound the home side's misery.
There was no response from the home side as Olpherts grabbed his fourth, with Sutcliffe rounding out the scoring for the Tigers as they claimed a priceless win in the race for the play-offs.
Player of the match Derrell Olpherts
"I enjoyed that one. I've got to give a big shout to the middle - they put the work in there for me to score the tries at the end.
"First half we were a little bit scrappy, second half we were nice and direct and composed."
Hull FC head coach Brett Hodgson
"The second half was embarrassing - I don't often say that about the group.
"We'll work hard and we'll get out of it."
Castleford Tigers head coach and former Hull FC player and coach Lee Radford
"The players have been giving me stick all week saying it's Grand Final week for me.
"It felt strange coming into the stadium coming into the game on the opposition bus, but I think I can have a beer tonight."
Hull FC travel to the South of France to face Toulouse Olympique on Friday, July 29 (6pm UK time kick-off). Castleford, meanwhile, welcome Wakefield Trinity to the Mend-A-Hose Jungle on the same night for a derby clash live on Sky Sports (8pm).
