The biggest joke is that their reason for the change is that there needs to be 5 day turnaround because of player welfare. However they then arrange 2 games over easter and ask teams to play midweek games because of the Challenge Cup.

The game sold it's soul to TV. TV dictates who plays and when.

What part of that is difficult to comprehend?

But it's not a game that's on TV

This fixture has nothing to do with TV. What part of that is difficult to comprehend?

My main gripe with this is the inconsistencies produced on a regular basis with regards to the 'reasoning' behind the decision. Easter fixtures and challenge cup fixtures are fine, but their favourite clubs need enough rest between games to ensure they get into the top 8. Cheers.

I wonder if Leeds were aware or offered the same, as we're still playing on the Sunday. Cas are always up for this game and i'm not sure why the RFL have given them this advantage :/

But their next game is, on the Thursday. Perhaps they didn't want them going to Leeds on a 4 day turnaround with it being on Sky for fear of them turning up tired and not playing well? Granted Leeds play on the Sunday too so a 4 day turnaround but I don't know if we've ask to move it and plus, it's only against Wakey away.

A few years back sky changed the KO time for a Catalans game, meaning that most of the travelling London support (we used to take a few hundred to france....honest) were on the return flight home when the game Kicked Off.
I believe that Gutterfax...that anti league union loving troll banned from this site spat his dummy out that hard that the parliamentary rl group were given assurances from SKY and the RFL that no further changes would be made to games in France.

I'm sure many said that last year...and the year before when we only won in the last 5mins or something

The RFL have set a precedent now for changing games with 5 day turnarounds.
Plenty of teams have had to play on a Sunday then on a Thursday,
Leeds are still having to do exactly that, Yet the RFL have changed our game to benefit Cas,
Why should Cas have the game changed when other teams have had to play on Sundays then the Thursday.

We haven't just enquired about changing the fixture date - Cas Tigers asked for this fixture to be moved back in February and didn't get an answer from the RFL.

The fixtures were out in October and I made my decision to buy my season pass just before New Year based on these fixtures. Requesting a change in Feb after the fixtures have been out 4/5 months should not be allowed to happen and the request should have been denied for that reason alone. That said an immediate yes or no to the request should have been made in Feb, not now!

I understand games will get shifted for Sky and I begrudgingly accept that it may cause me to miss the odd game, but this seems to have been a situation that could have been planned for and avoided a long time ago.

surely all clubs see the fixtures in advance of them being publicly released, so there is no real excuse for any changes once they are published (games moved for SKY TV excepted).

“The RFL has accepted a request from Castleford Tigers to rearrange this fixture and frankly we believe it is a joke to make this ruling so long after the fixtures were released. We received a request to change the fixture in mid-February, which we rejected at the time, and we have been arguing our case for the RFL to overturn their decision ever since.

“As far as we are concerned, the fixtures were signed off by all clubs in October before they were released to supporters and whilst we accept there will be changes during the season due to Sky broadcasting, that is not the reason behind this decision.

“The Tigers are due to face Leeds Rhinos on the Thursday following our game and have sought to reschedule our match on player welfare grounds to allow a longer turnaround. As a club, the safety and welfare of our players is the number one priority but we feel this sets a dangerous precedent for the Super League competition.

“Castleford have known they would be playing Leeds on the Thursday night since mid-October and waited until the middle of February to act, which is totally unfair on our club and our supporters. Sunday afternoon is our traditional kick-off time and to be forced to move away from that in these circumstances leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

“The decision from the RFL has been made on player welfare grounds to allow a minimum of a five-day turnaround between fixtures, yet clubs are asked to play two games in four days over the Easter period. Now that we have progressed through to the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup quarter finals, we will also have to arrange a mid-week fixture against Salford Red Devils. Will the RFL be able to accommodate both clubs the way they have with Castleford? I don’t think so.

“The way this has been handled shows a lack of respect to supporters but the fact of the matter is that we will now play Castleford on Friday, 5th June at 8pm and I’m sure Chris Chester and his side will be doing their utmost to continue their strong home record this season.”

Hull Kingston Rovers CEO Mike Smith

I love faux hysteria. Especially when it's in capital letters.