Castleford Tigers skipper Michael Shenton 'pleased' with milestone win over Leeds Rhinos but says there's a lot more to come

A win over Leeds Rhinos was the perfect way for milestone man Michael Shenton to celebrate his 400th career game, but he admitted it didn’t feel as good as it might have done - and that is a good sign for Castleford Tigers.
The win over Leeds last week was Michael Shenton's 400th career game. Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com.The win over Leeds last week was Michael Shenton's 400th career game. Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com.
The win over Leeds last week was Michael Shenton's 400th career game. Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com.

“I am just happy we got the win,” the Tigers captain said after the 18-10 victory over Rhinos.

“Sometimes these games don’t go to plan when you’ve got something riding in it, but it was a gritty, tough performance.”

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He stressed: “That was the pleasing thing, but it doesn’t feel as good as it should do - it is always great to beat Leeds, but I think we didn’t play to our potential.

“The boys were a little bit down, but that’s sometimes a good sign because you know the boys are hungry and they want to get better. But to grind thhat win out on a five-day turnaround, that’s awesome for us. We can build on our first two performances and it has kick-started our season pretty well.”

Tigers are two from two in Betfred Super League, both against sides in last year’s top-five, having also seen off Warrington Wolves in round one.

“I thought Leeds controlled territory on us quite a lot,” Shenton added.

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“But our goalline D [defence] and our hunger to defend our line was great.

“Their two tries were a little bit soft, but we handled the majority of the shape they threw at us pretty well.

“There were some really positive signs with our defence, especially on our tryline, but loads to work on as well.”

Tigers’ next game is a Betfred Challenge up third round tie at Hull KR on Friday.

Shenton said: “Challenge Cup week is exciting.

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“I think Hull KR have shown some decent signs, they’ve had a tough start to the year, but they will be battle-hardened and we know we have got to be good going over there.”

Tigers have struggled in the Challenge Cup since reaching their final in 2014, but Friday is a step towards making this a “special year” for the club.

Shenton insisted: “The boys have all bought in, you just get the feeling the lads are on top of their game, they are ready to go and we’re ready to battle anyone who comes against us.”