Leigh 0-38 Castleford: Greg Eden scores four tries in rout

Match stats: Leigh 0-38 Castleford

Castleford tries: Sene-Lefao (15,23), Eden (33,36,38,49), Webster (58)  
Goals: Gale (15,23,36,38,58)  

Match report

Greg Eden scored four tries - including a potentially record-breaking five-minute hat-trick - as Castleford crushed Leigh to stay two points clear at the top of Super League.

The winger crossed three times between the 33rd and 38th minutes, making it a likely contender for the fastest ever hat-trick in the history of the sport and almost certainly a Super League record.

Official timings will need to be consulted but whatever the outcome, it represents an astonishing scoring feat. It was his fourth hat-trick in as many games.

Second-rower Jesse Sene-Lefao also scored twice as Daryl Powell's men raced into a 28-0 half-time lead at Leigh Sports Village.

On Friday, Leigh won their first ever away game in Super League with a victory at Hull and they started the game with plenty of confidence.

Second-rower Atelea Vea almost scored in the seventh minute but he lost the ball over the try line.

But Castleford, who have not lost to Leigh since 1987, took the lead in the 15th minute with a superb effort - created and finished by Jesse Sene-Lefao.

The second-rower kicked infield and the ball was collected by Luke Gale, who gave it back to Sene-Lefao and he raced to the try line. Gale added the conversion.

Sene-Lefao scored his second try just seven minutes later, this time going over from close range after taking Paul McShane's pass. Gale's conversion made it 12-0 to the visitors.

Leigh, on the way to their heaviest defeat of the season, looked to have stemmed the tide 11 minutes before half-time when Eloi Pelissier lunged for the line but the score was ruled out by the video ref.

Then it was time for in-form winger Eden to take centre stage with a five-minute hat-trick which ended the game as a contest.

In the 33rd minute, Gale was stripped of the ball in the tackle and Sene-Lefao got a pass away to Eden, who scored in the corner.

Moments later, Gale's looping pass got Eden in at the corner for his second try, Gale again kicking the conversion.

His historic hat-trick was complete two minutes before half-time when centre Michael Shenton broke clear before sending Eden racing for the try line. Gale's conversion made it 28-0.

Castleford's domination continued after the restart, though they were helped by the 48th-minute sin-binning of Leigh centre Ben Crooks for a dangerous tackle.

Eden was set up by Shenton for his fourth try in the 49th minute though Gale saw his conversion attempt hit a post.

Centre Jake Webster scored Castleford's seventh try in the 58th minute, coming infield off a short ball from Ben Roberts and Gale's conversion bounced over off the upright to make it 38-0.

That proved to be the final scoring action of the game as both sides looked to be feeling the effects of two games in four days in an error-ridden final quarter.

Match reaction

Leigh owner Derek Beaumont: "I want to talk about the official and everything in general that's outside of our control.

"We have got a coach there (Neil Jukes) in the dressing room and a bunch of guys who are doing everything they can.

"But I've kept quiet all year and said nothing about conversions that go wide of the sticks and officials put their flags up. It all stems from the referee's performance against Wakefield (28-24 loss on March 23), which I thought was disgusting which I took up with (RFL chief operating officer) Ralph Rimmer and I texted him at half-time saying, 'Sorry Ralph, I'm speaking up, fine me if you want to'.

"I can't accept what's gone out there. I'm completely not happy with the performance of Chris Kendall. Take nothing away from Castleford - they're absolutely on fire, they're a superb rugby team - and I was looking forward to watching them.

"I didn't expect us to win the game but I thought we competed pretty well. I thought Chris Kendall had a better second half - whether someone spoke to him in the first half I don't know.

"Every time they get over, he goes to the screen and they get a second chance. When we get over, he doesn't. Why hasn't he gone to the screen at the end there?

"Glenn Stewart gets taken out of the game in the first 10 minutes - we get a penalty but no yellow card. There are lots of calls in every game. And it's not just our game, it's the game in general.

"You talk to every owner and coach and they can't say anything because they're scared of getting fined. I don't care about getting fined, I really genuinely don't.

"We need to stand up as a sport and talk about it because it's making our game look like a laughing stock. It's a joke shop. It's incompetent and it's not good enough.

"I'm accountable to my fans. I'm accountable to the finance paying the wages when the fans don't turn up on the back of us getting beat. The coach is accountable to me and I'm protecting him. And the players are accountable to him. Now I'm sat here because I don't expect him to answer questions today. He can't control what's gone on in the middle.

"It's game-wide. Where's the referee's accountability? I want to see the referees do better. The game is too complicated when it can be so much simpler.

"I can control the controllables but I'm getting sick of things that I can't control affecting me. Who deals with the referees when they don't perform? They haven't got enough of them and they ain't good enough."

Castleford coach Daryl Powell: "I thought we were superb in the second 20 minutes of the first half. We defended well all the way through but made too many errors when we got in attacking positions early on.

"To nil a team is very difficult to do and we showed some last-ditch stuff there which shows the character in the team. We have done that twice now this season (against Widnes and Leigh) and they are big results for us.

"I thought our attitude was outstanding, given we've just had the second ridiculous short turnaround this season. It's crazy how that has been put together.

"The boys have put a lot of emphasis on defence this year and they were delighted to keep a clean sheet."