TOM Lineham said Warrington Wolves were rewarded for sticking to their guns against Castleford Tigers.

He felt the Gods were against him and his teammates with some of the decisions in the game, but enjoyed scoring his spectacular try in a 9-8 win that everybody connected with the club needed after the drubbing at Leeds Rhinos the previous week.

"Let's not beat about the bush, we were terrible in every aspect last week against Leeds,” said the 27-year-old winger.

"That hurt and was really difficult to take.

"We had some harsh words early on in the week and discussed what we needed to do to turn it around.

"We've not got a finger pointing culture here. As individuals we needed to improve and collectively we needed to improve.

"That was an important win.

"Cas are an unbelievable team. Really well coached and well drilled, and they're the best at shifting the ball in the competition so to keep them to eight points was pleasing."

He was surprised that video referee Liam Moore awarded a penalty try to Castleford’s Calum Turner when he failed to ground the ball during a last-gasp challenge from Keanan Brand that was adjudged to be a high tackle that impacted the visiting winger’s scoring process.

And he felt the second-half pass from Blake Austin that sent Josh Charnley flying to the try line from halfway should not have been ruled forward.

“Their try was dubious and harsh. I’ve never seen a try given when he doesn’t ground the ball,” said Lineham.

“The Gods were against us. Blake Austin’s pass was brilliant I thought. So things weren’t quite going our way but we stuck at it.

“And it was a competition of who could do the worst drop goal.

“I think we had two attempts each and then Blake Austin, our marquee signing, handled the pressure very well and slotted it between the sticks.

“I was pleased for him because he’s come in for a bit of stick lately and he’s a good bloke and a good player and I’m pleased that he got the glory.”

A couple of Lineham runs down the touchline in the past two games have not resulted in tries and so he is considering a new tactic.

“I’ve said to Steve Price (head coach), I’m a five-a-side player, playing rugby league,” said Lineham as he introduced more and more tongue-in-cheek comments into the interview with a cheeky grin on his face.

“So, I need to start kicking more. I keep breaking down the wing and just getting creamed.

“Obviously Brad Dwyer, the little terrier around my ankles at Leeds. Then against Castleford Rankin got me. Then referee Robert Hicks gave a knock-on after I’d played the ball quickly. Me and Robert are mates but we’re not quite getting on at the minute.

“So I’m just going to use my five-a-side ability, run down the wing, a little chip and either I will collect it myself or one of my teammates well. It doesn’t matter about warning future opponents, you can’t defend it.”

The try he did score against Cas was eye-catching for his acrobatic finish.

“It was a bit flamboyant, a bit extravagant, I make no bones about it,” said Lineham, who lived up to his Flying Pig nickname.

“But we’re calling this a fortress, we’re unbeaten at home, Sky cameras were there, little pig on the wing just gets in. Probably didn’t need to do it but I did it anyway and I reckon it’ll make a good photo that. It’ll be in the papers, it’ll be fish and chip paper on Tuesday.

“It was a very rewarding win. It was a really tough game. Collectively, that was massive for us. But it’s one win, we need to back it up next week and go on a bit of a run, keep the defence.

“Big credit to our middles, they were aggressive, they showed intent and worked really hard and did a job.

“Cas have some really good players, they’re a really good team and I thought we did a good job on them. So well done to the middles. Well done to the Warrington Wolves organisation.”

Lineham’s reference to backing up the performance and being consistent hits the nail on the head for supporters who have been critical of the side for not delivering what it is capable of every week.

He added: “We’ve got a lot of talented, flamboyant players, and I think at this time of the year it’s ugly rugby – like we played at Wakefield, you wouldn’t graze cattle on that pitch. Storm Dennis, it was absolutely awful. They ground it out better than us and that hit us hard.

“Against Toronto we started off really well and we fell off a bit. You can’t take your foot off. In Super League, everyone can beat everyone so you’ve got to have concentration and intent for 80 minutes. If you switch off, teams will punish you.

“I thought against Cas we concentrated really well, defence was really good. To concede a try was disappointing but then we reacted, responded and managed to get the drop goal at the end.”

The focus now switches to a return to his club Hull FC on Thursday night.

“Going forward, it’s a tough test on the dark side, East Yorkshire, the ghetto that is Hull,” said Lineham.

“I think it’s been voted in the top three worst cities in the UK for as long as I can remember.

“So, it’s not a pretty trip, it’s a tough place to go.

“My good friend Jamie Shaul (the Hull FC full-back) will be there. He’s spoken, I’ve got a lot of inside information on Hull FC. I won’t delve into too much detail for the cameras but he gives me a lot of information that I’ll be sharing with Steve Price, his coaching staff and the rest of my teammates this week.”