Wakefield 29-17 Castleford

By James Standley

80 mins: It's all over, and Castleford are down. Wakefield's fans are ready to paint the town red, the only consolation for the Cas supporters is that they do not have far to go to get home. The Wakefield fans flood onto the pitch to congratulate their team as the Wildcats complete their great escape.

75 mins: Cas are trying to battle their way out of their half but their fans have fallen silent and the Tigers look doomed.

71 mins: TRY Wakefield 29-17 Castleford
Wakefield are surely safe. Evans latches onto Rooney's hanging kick to score his second try of the match and Castleford are staring at relegation. Rooney fails to add the extras.

69 mins: Agony for Cas. Luke Dyer touches the ball down but he was standing in touch.

68 mins: DROP GOAL Wakefield 25-17 Castleford
Rooney edges Wakefield eight points ahead with a drop goal. Another nail in Castleford's coffin?

66 mins: Cas need two scores to save themselves and the Tigers have less than 15 minutes to do it. The future may be bright but it looks increasingly unlikely that the future's orange.

63 mins: TRY Wakefield 24-17 Castleford
Redemption for Henderson as he takes a pass from Solomona and powers over the line for his first try of the season. Got to admire his timing. Rooney cannot add the extras for the first time in the match.

62 mins: Cries of despair ring out round Belle Vue as Kevin Henderson drops a difficult pass with a man free outside him, but Cas immediately make a mistake of their own to hand possession back to the hosts.

60 mins: Cas are getting on top and they come desperately close as Ryan McGoldrick is held up over the line.

57 mins: Both sides are making handling errors, but who can blame them? Just over 20 minutes now separates joy from despair in West Yorkshire.

51 mins: TRY Wakefield 20-17 Castleford
Guess what - Wakefield go back in front again as Monty Betham picks himself up to flop over the line. The white-clad parts of Belle Vue explode as the TMO confirms the score. Rooney drills over the goal to put the hosts back into a three-point lead.

48 mins: TRY Wakefield 14-17 Castleford
The emotional see-saw continues as Cas go back in front, Danny Nutley powering over under the posts from 10 yards out. Brough converts and once again Wakefield are staring at Super League oblivion.

43 mins: The good news is Wakefield full-back Halpenny is back on his feet after his horrific collision with Viane.

41 mins: So this is it, 40 minutes to save your season, possibly your career, maybe even your club's future. No pressure then. Sam Obst re-starts for Wakefield.

40 mins: The half-time hooter goes but it does not stop a few of the players from pushing and shoving as emotions continue to run high.

With franchises expected in the next couple of years there have been suggestions that these two clubs are playing for their Super League safety, not just for this year, but for the future as well, and it looks like going right down to the wire.

36 mins: TRY Wakefield 14-11 Castleford
Wakefield go back in front as Jason Demetriou shrugs off two tacklers before barrelling over the line with another couple of desperate Cas players hanging off him. Now it is the white-clad Wakey fans who are rocking at Belle Vue.

Rooney adds the extras and, at least temporarily, it is the Wildcats who are in a position of safety, but they rode their luck as Solomona got away with dropping the ball earlier in the set of six.

33 mins: The game restarts and Wakefield win a penalty after a crunching intervention from David Solomona halts a Cas attack.

32 mins: The crowd falls silent after a sickening injury to Colum Halpenny, who crashes into Castleford's Gray Viane and crumples to the ground unconscious. The medical team is quickly onto the pitch and Halpenny is stretchered off the pitch in a neck brace.

30 mins: TRY Wakefield 8-11 Castleford
Wakefield score an extraordinary try as Monty Betham kicks the ball slightly backwards of square to centre James Evans, who crosses for the score. Rooney adds the extras.

26 mins: DROP GOAL Wakefield 2-11 Castleford
It is not about winning pretty, it is about winning full stop, and Brough is more than happy to edge Castleford further ahead with a smartly taken drop goal.

20 mins: TRY Wakefield 2-10 Castleford
The Cas fans turn their part of Belle Vue into a sea of bouncing orange as Fletcher makes a quick break from dummy half and scoots over in the corner after a sizzling break from Michael Platt. Brough cannot add the conversion.

16 mins: The home fans go wild as Ben Jeffries races three-quarters the length of the field but the try is disallowed for Kevin Henderson pulling back Adam Fletcher. Cas are awarded a penalty but Brough pulls his kick wide.

11 mins: TRY Wakefield 2-6 Castleford
David Solomona fails dismally to deal with Brough's kick into the in-goal area and Willie Manu pounces for the Tigers to score the first try of the match. Brough adds the extras.

6 mins: GOAL Wakefield 2-0 Castleford
First blood to Wakefield as Jamie Rooney lands a simple penalty to settle the hosts' nerves. If the score stays the same the Wildcats are safe.

4 mins: Both clubs have pledged to stay full-time if they drop through the trapdoor but some of these players are probably playing for their careers as full-time rugby league players. The tension is palpable as Wakefield concede a second penalty in quick succession, only for Danny Brough to drop a simple pass to halt a Cas attack.

2 mins: Cas kick into the corner but Semi Tadulala just manages to usher the ball to safety under pressure from several Cas players.

1 minute: Cas take a short kick-off and come up with the ball, putting them straight on the attack. When Danny Nutley takes the ball up he is gang-tackled and punched in the face for his troubles.

Games do not come much bigger than this in club rugby league as near-neighbours Wakefield and Castleford, separated by little more than five miles, meet in a battle for Super League survival.

The last time the two teams met, six weeks ago, Wakefield won a fiery encounter 18-0 despite finishing the game with 11 men.

A draw will be enough for Cas to stay up, Wakefield must win. The hosts go into the game in better form having won three games out of their last five while Cas have lost five of their last six.

Wakefield: Halpenny, Demetriou, Evans, Henderson, Tadulala, Rooney, Jeffries, Watene, Obst, Korkidas, Solomona, MacGillivray, Betham.
Replacements: March, Elima, Catic, Latu.