Rovers found themselves on the defensive for much of the contest, trailing 14-nil after early tries to Mike McMeeken and a double from Jy Hitchcox.

Junior Vaivai went over just before the break to cut the gap to eight points at half-time, and when Adam Quinlan crossed for a dazzling score straight from the kick-off to the second half, the Robins were back in striking distance.

Hitchcox grabbed his third and fourth try of the afternoon as Castleford re-established their advantage, but Mose Masoe crashed over and Vaivai grabbed his second try to silence the home crowd.

Ryan Shaw drew Rovers level with his fourth goal from as many attempts, only for Chris Atkin and Jake Trueman to miss with drop-goal attempts in the dying stages as the points were shared.

“It’s a good point for us considering the start we made and the field position we gave up,” Rovers coach Tim Sheens said.

“We could have lost by 60 but we showed some real character to just hang in there.

“We actually defended pretty well, we gave up a few points, but with all the ball Castleford had on our line we did pretty well to keep them out as often as we did.

“They could have been out of sight again but we hung on just enough in that first half to keep them within reach.

“The try just before half-time and then again just after were a big help.

“I thought Joel Tomkins did well on his debut, he had a couple of nice touches and did his job for the team.

“He spoke after the game and said we could have easily lost that heavily but nobody wanted to give in, and I’d agree with him.

“I thought every player contributed, there was no real standout.

We were a bit disappointed not to set the drop goal up a bit better at the end but that’s the sort of thing that happens with inexperienced halves.

“From where we were in the game early on, I’ll happily take that point.”

Quinlan and his Rovers next play the Huddersfield Giants at KCOM Craven Park on Friday, June 29.