Although Castleford had been elected to the Northern Rugby League for the start of the 1926/27 season, they spent their first season at the Sandy Desert on Lock Lane.
Having purchased the Wheldon Road ground from Castleford Town football club in 1926 the club spent a year making improvements to bring the ground up to the standard required by the Northern Rugby League. These included:
Repairs to the existing stand
Now perimeter fencing around the playing area
The creation of banked areas to improve viewing for spectators
A wooden fence along the full length of the Princess Street side of the ground
Office accommodation for the club secretary
Improvements to changing facilities
The ground still had only one small stand to accommodate spectators, with most people having to find a vantage point around the newly erected perimeter fence, although the local press commented that people who attended the match were pleased with the improvements and that the playing area was in excellent condition. One other interesting feature of the ground was an old double-deck tram car that had been moved from the Sandy Desert ground. The upper deck was used as a press box and the lower deck was used as a tea room.
And so it was on the opening day of the 1927/28 season that they played their first match on the ground that they still occupy to this day.
Having had a year’s experience at the highest level of club rugby league, Castleford were confident they could record a win on their first match at their new home, against a Huddersfield team that had finished in a modest 23rd position the previous season. Most of the 5,000 spectators who turned up were equally optimistic. However, things did not go as planned.
Team selection headache
Two probable starters, Joseph McTighe and William Hargrave were injured in training and two new signings, Billy Batten and Joseph Malkin, were unavailable as they still hadn’t finalised terms. Hargrave’s place at centre was taken by Arthur Feltham, with Arthur Atkinson and Harry Owen being promoted from the reserves to fill the full back and right-wing positions. One new signing, AR Rushworth from Bramley, made his debut in the second row. Huddersfield, in contrast, were at full strength.
There was no official opening ceremony although the match was kicked off by Mr Ambrose Shepherd, a businessman and landowner from Blackpool, who originated from the Castleford area.
Castleford started strongly and were on top in the early stages. Breaks by Feltham and Needham set up good attacking positions, but they were unable to take advantage and Feltham failed with a kickable penalty attempt. Huddersfield came back strongly as the first half progressed but Castleford’s defensive line remained intact. Both teams failed with further penalty attempts, resulting in a scoreless first half.
The decisive score came in the early minutes of the second half. From a scrum on the Castleford 25-yard line the Huddersfield backs moved the ball quickly to the right for winger Mills to cross in the corner. Following this setback, Castleford came back strongly and launched a series of attacks on the Huddersfield line. However, due to a combination of anxiety and over-enthusiasm they were unable to make a breakthrough. To make matters worse, Atkinson missed a number of penalty attempts, two of which were from very kickable positions.
So, Castleford’s first league match at Wheldon Road ended in defeat, not because they were outplayed by a more experienced team, but because they lacked a reliable goal kicker. Their performance left everyone feeling optimistic for the future and, although they finished the season in 25th place out of 28, the foundations had been put in place to make Castleford one of the best teams in the country within the next 10 years.
Footnote: The Reserve team also lost 19-6 at Huddersfield on the same day.
