The most mouthwatering game of the weekend was the final game as top placed Castleford Tigers took on fourth placed Leeds Rhinos who were looking for revenge for the 66-10 drubbing at the beginning of March.

A win for the Rhinos would see them draw level on points at the top of the table with Castelford and Salford but Daryl Powell’s Tigers wanted to re-establish their two point cushion at the top of the pile.

The Tigers were clear favourites with the bookies as Brian McDermott’s side looked to see how far they’d come over the last six weeks.

It was a lightening fast start from both sides.

The Tigers opened the scoring on three minutes when Michael Shenton tipped back a Luke Gale high kick into the hands of the kicker who pushed off the Rhinos defenders to go five metres to score. He added the extra two for a stunning start.

On eleven Greg Minikin spilled the ball in the tackle with Danny McGuire. Two tackles in and Brad Singleton was held up over the line, but after a further two tackles Kallum Watkins found space down the right, off a superb McGuire pass, to run the angle to score. Liam Sutcliffe hit the far upright, the ball bouncing back into the field of play.

The game was end to end with Stevie Ward and Anthony Mullally both been held up over the line by brilliant Castleford defence. The sidelines were starting to resemble a casualty ward as the Tigers doctor checked his bandage supplies.

The Tigers appeared to have broken twenty-three metres of deadlock when Greg Eden collected the ball on his own ten to go the length of the field to score but the video referee ruled out his spectacular effort for an obstruction in the build up. From the resulting penalty Sutcliffe kicked the goal from ten metres out for 6-6.

It was a frenetic last few minutes up until the interval. Luke Gale tried for a drop goal on thirty-nine but got it very wrong and the sides went into the sheds all tied up at 6-6. It was a low scoring encounter, but it was a thriller.

Two minutes into the second half and the Tigers were held up twice over the line by a keen Rhinos defence. But it was four minutes respite for the Rhinos as on forty six Greg Eden found space wide down the left wing to fly in on the overlap off a Shenton pass and ground a metre in from the corner flag. Gale kicked the goal, in off the near upright for 12-6.

Electric play from the Tigers on fifty minutes saw Eden in for his second, off a superb back-handed pass from Shenton. Gale added the conversion from wide and the Tigers had a twelve point lead and were in danger of running away with the game.

On fifty-five Tom Holmes won the game for the Tigers when he collected a McGuire kick on his own ten metre line and went ninety metres to outpace the Rhinos defence for a superb solo try. Gale failed to add the extras but it was 22-6 and the Rhinos had a mountain to climb.

The Tigers had hit a higher gear in the second half and on sixty-three they moved the ball from right to left and Eden was at the end of the passing move to complete his hat-trick, grounding in the left corner. Gale added the touchline conversion.

On sixty-six Joel Moon used his upper body strength to to take a Kallum Watkins pass and push over the line to score. Sutcliffe added the extras and the Rhinos hit double figures, trailing 28-12 with twelve minutes remaining.

Gale kicked a drop goal on seventy-two for 29-12 to further pressure rub salt into the Rhinos wounds.

Sutcliffe grabbed a consolation try on seventy-six when he took a Stevie Ward no-look pass to crash the line. He added the conversion for 29-18.

It was a fitting conculsion to the festival weekend to see a magical Castleford Tigers overwhelm the Leeds Rhinos in a game played a breakneck speed. Castleford are in a different class to the rest of Super League in 2017 and must be expecting to pick up some, if not all, of the silverware on offer. This wasn’t a shabby Rhinos performance but they couldn’t get near the Tigers who ripped them apart wide down both wings and tormented them with the kicking game.

Tigers: Hardaker, Minikin, Webster, Shenton, Eden (3T), Holmes (T), Gale (T, 4G, DG), Lynch, McShane, Millington, Sene-Lefao, McMeeken, Milner. Subs: Massey, Moors, Cook, Foster.

Rhinos: Golding, Briscoe, Watkins (T), Sutcliffe (T, 3G), Hall, McGuire, Moon (T), Singleton, Parcell, Cuthbertson, Ferres, Ward, Jones-Buchanan. Subs: Mullally, Delaney, Handley, Burrow.

Referee: Phil Bentham.

Half-Time: 6-6.

Full-Time: 29-18.

Attendance:.