Daryl Powell demands Wakefield prove play-off credentials after Castleford loss
In a seesaw West Yorkshire derby, tries from Chris Atkin, Elliot Wallis, Sam Wood, Alex Mellor and Liam Horne gave Castleford a 26-22 victory
Daryl Powell has challenged Wakefield to prove they are worthy of a Betfred Super League play-off spot after their hopes were dented by a surprise defeat at Castleford.
In a seesaw West Yorkshire derby, tries from Chris Atkin, Elliot Wallis, Sam Wood, Alex Mellor and Liam Horne gave Castleford a 26-22 victory that leaves Wakefield just a point above seventh-placed Hull FC.
Wakefield are reliant on league leaders Hull KR beating their crosstown rivals on Sunday to keep Trinity's bid to finish in the top six - and claim a berth in the play-offs - in their own hands.
Powell said: "This was a missed opportunity. We'll see what happens on Sunday, but if we're going to play like that then you can forget it, we're not going to be in the play-offs (playing like that).
"We've got to move on. The players have got to pick themselves up. Are we a top-six team or not? We've got to find performances over this last period of the season that justifies being a top-six team.
"There wasn't enough fight in us here to win that game, (Castleford) had more fight in them."
Wakefield, who welcome Hull KR next weekend before ending the regular season at troubled Salford, hit the front through Tom Johnstone, but Atkin, Wallis and Wood touched down to give Castleford a 14-4 lead.
Josh Rourke struck either side of half-time as Wakefield went 16-14 ahead, but Mellor and Horne then went over and, while Seth Nikotemo's 72nd-minute try gave the visitors hope, Castleford held on.
"They outworked us and they were better team. If we'd have nabbed it at the end it would have been a travesty," Powell added. "I expected us to be way better than that."
Castleford have endured another forgettable season and plumbed new depths with five successive defeats in August, when they shipped 224 points and scored just 22 to slip to 11th in the table.
But this win moves them back above Huddersfield on points difference, while interim coach Chris Chester, who took the reins in July, was finally able to celebrate a win over opposite number Powell.
The pair were in the opposing dugouts from 2016 to 2021 and Powell, in the Castleford hotseat, beat Wakefield on all 13 occasions, but Chester said: "I'm not bothered about those kind of things.
"We needed the win. I'm really pleased for the players, it's been a really tough year for a lot of reasons. We know we've got to be better next year and I know we will be.
"I said to the players, 'Where did that performance come from? Why can't we do that every week?' But I'm proud of them, I think they wanted to prove everybody wrong. It's an unbelievable win."