Eye-opener for Toronto and SBW with Castleford taking them fairly comfortably.
Experienced and classy Cas with too much talent across the park accustomed to Super League while the Wolfpack strugglde with the pace of the game and have too many weak points in key positions.
Toronto will improve as they get used to upgrade in quality, but the bigger question for me is whether they have enough players that are up to this level. While they have a sprinkling of stars, there are a number of players who have spent a lot of years at Championship level. When the 23 man squad starts to feel the fatigure, this will become an even bigger issue.
3 points for Danny Richardson. Focal point of the attack, always had 2 or 3 options running angles off him and usually picked the right one.
2 McShane controlled the middle with poise and allowed Richardson and Trueman to roam and attack with ease. Stark comparison to the disjointed playmaking of the Wolfpack.
1 Miloudi. Wolfpack's best player in attack, with direct involvement in their 2 tries.
For Cas, the 3 starting props Watts, Millington and Milner led the way, while their playmakers used the good field position to cut the Wolfpack to shreds. Richardson is definitely one to watch while Trueman has already gone touring with the GB Lions. Quality all-English halves pairing assisted well by McShane and Rankin. Not a whole heap to say, a quality team performance with everyone making their contributions known.
Starting with the positives for Toronto, they never got completely blown away. If they tidy up the discipline and get used to the pace, they'll be at least competitive. But. The playmaking combinations are extremely limited in what they can offer at this level. It's only round 1 but I can say with some confidence that McCrone, Mellor, Wilkin, Wallace, Ackers are not going to cut it if they want to play finals. McCrone's first touch being an intercept pass wasn't surprising.
Sonny Bill Williams, the man of the moment, had a fair few moments to forget in his Super League debut. Obviously doesn't have his timing right yet. No doubt he'll get there, but in the meantime needs to put his head down, run hard and get tackled instead of looking for the pass every play.
Hakim Miloudi was the best player for Toronto, showing glimpses of the French flair of old. Of their players who have spend a lot of time below SL level, here's one that I reckon can make a big impact with the step up. Reign in some of the more extravagant passing attempts (which the whole team was guilty of) and his impact would be all positive.
International watch -
Toronto feature an interesting sprinkling of talent from all over. Maybe they could get better value out of their contracts by leaning into this and looking for under the radar talent from tier 2 test squads and local competitions.
Hakim Miloudi (France) was their best player. Hasn't spent too much time in the France squad over the years. The national setup needs to rectify the situation with their first grade players showing limited interest because there is a good team in there if they can get them all together.
The Ireland contingent in Kay, Mullally, and Singleton played well and seem comfortable at this level. Also featuring Leutele (Samoa), Russell (Scotland), Springer (France) and of course SBW whose allegiance will be of interest for some time.
None of the more exotic internationals for Cas, but their England hopefuls (Watts, Milner, Trueman, Richardson, Eden) did their chances no harm with professional performances across the board. Mata-utia will be hoping to keep his name in the mix for Samoa despite playing across the other side of the world.
