Steadman praises defence but bemoans penalty count

Castleford's Coach, Graham Steadman, was impressed by his side's defence as they crushed Wakefield 32-4 in a one-sided Super League clash at Belle Vue on Saturday night.

"We knew we had to front up in defence and we did," he said. But Steadman was not pleased with the number of penalties, saying: "It was a very scrappy game. The penalties were very frustrating. I'll have to get some clarification on some of the rules for next week, because if the penalties go against us like that against Bradford then there's only going to be one result - victory for Bradford."

Yesterday, Salford City Reds maintained their lead at the top of National League One with a 54-16 victory at struggling Batley Bulldogs.

The leaders opened up a 24-4 half-time lead, but were then rocked by two tries in four minutes from the hosts' Danny Thomas and Mark Sibson, which closed the gap to eight points. However, the Reds turned up the heat and Simon Baldwin engineered a breakaway under pressure to send the centre, Andy Kirk, over for a try - the first of five unanswered touchdowns.

Second-placed Leigh Centurions won 20-8 at Whitehaven to ensure they remained level on points with Salford.