Solomona becomes all-time leading try scorer
Denny Solomona’s brace helped Castleford to secure a dramatic 34-28 victory against Catalans Dragons and snare a slice of Super League history.
The New Zealander broke a record that has stood for 12 years – Lesley Vainikolo posted 36 tries for the Bradford Bulls.
The Tigers registered their first win in eight attempts over in Perpignan.
Tony Gigot tried to pick out Jordan Sigismeau in the corner but just over hit the kick and the chance for Catalan to post an early score was gone.
Paddy Flynn benefitted from an excellent pass by Ryan Hampshire to dive across in the corner with 12 minutes played.
Luke Gale nailed the conversion to give the Tigers a 6-0 lead.
Olivier Elima levelled the scores through brute strength, collecting Paul Aiton’s pass before crashing over next to the sticks.
A pair of Denny Solomona tries in two minutes started to assert Castleford’s dominance in the first half. Solomona is now the all-time leading Super League try scorer.
The Tigers moved further in front approaching half-time, Ben Crooks grounding the ball with nine minutes left.
Glenn Stewart made a brilliant run to crash over and give the home side a boost before the interval.
The Dragons were slow out of the blocks in the second half as Crooks was allowed to touch down with ease.
Louis Anderson wasted a crucial chance to reduce the deficit for the Dragons, dropping Gigot’s pass within five metres of the whitewash.
The wasted opportunity was all the more significant as Flynn went down and posted another four-pointer for the Tigers just a minute later.
Solomona looked odds on to score his hat-trick before the hour mark but Jodie Broughton was in the right place at the right time, tipping Gale’s pass away from danger.
Things went from bad to worse for the French side, who were reduced to 12 men with just under 20 minutes to play after Benjamin Garcia was sent to the sin bin for appearing to punch Jake Webster.
Catalan may have been down on numbers but Eloi Pelissier attempted to salvage some pride, crossing over after Sigismeau’s pass.
The Dragons continued to keep alive slender hopes of getting back into the match, Anderson with a second try in three minutes for Catalan.
Richard Myler scored yet another try for Catalan after a clever kick from Gigot to set up a nervy finish for the Tigers.