Castleford Tigers: Lynch confident Cas will learn from first defeat of season

Tigers’ four-game winning start to Betfred Super League ended when they slipped up 13-12 at Salford Red Devils two days ago.

It was the first time Cas have scored less than 30 points this year and they let slip leads of 6-0 and 12-4 before being sunk by a late drop goal.

Lynch admitted Tigers were off their game, but said it is their response that matters now.

Catalans Dragons visit the Jungle on Sunday and Lynch stressed: “These are the times you’ve got to react.

“We have got to bounce back from it. Catalans are going to be a tough challenge, they will challenge us all over the park so we have got to work hard in training this week and get it right for Sunday.”

Of the setback at Salford, Lynch reflected: “They came with a game plan to stop our game plan and it worked for them.

“We got rattled at times. We’ve been lucky the last few weeks weather-wise and [on Sunday] we didn’t handle the conditions. We’ve got to learn from that and learn fast. Credit to Salford, they were compressed defensively and they closed us down.”

Lynch knows other teams will study the way Salford kept Tigers’ attacking machine quiet.

“The thing we’ve got to learn is don’t get rattled when things don’t happen for us,” he said.

“We’ve got to stick to the game plan and keep disciplined and carry on with the plan. If we stick to it we will come through the other side stronger.”

He conceded: “I don’t think we did that and it was disappointing to come away with a loss.”

Sunday’s second half was played in torrential rain, but Lynch refused to blame that for the defeat. He insisted: “We’ve got to adapt our game to the weather. We didn’t do that at times and Salford probably played that bit better than we did in the conditions.”

Cas were also disrupted by injuries to winger Greg Minikin and centre Jake Webster. Coach Daryl Powell had selected four forwards on the bench, but Lynch said: “There’s quality throughout our team. We have got players who can adapt.

“We are going to get challenged throughout the year and that’s something we’ve got to be able to handle. It was disappointing, but they have always been a bit of a bogey side.

“Last year we lost there and picked up a few injuries, but that’s what the squad’s there for, that strength in depth.

“We’ve got players who can come in and do a job.”