Tigers look to bounce back from successive defeats as they face out of form Leeds

Castleford Tigers will be looking to put back to back Super League losses behind them when they take on rivals Leeds Rhinos at a ‘sold out’ Jungle on Friday night.

Both the Rhinos and Tigers head into this weeks game with poor form, with the latter having lost to Warrington and Hull KR over the last fortnight.

Richard Agar’s Rhinos have had similar worries this season with just one win in their last five games, picking up two points against Wakefield Trinity but only after golden point extra time. For the Tigers, they have had positive contract news with forward George Griffin signing a new deal which will see him remain at the club until the end of the 2022 season.

Last week saw the Tigers handed their heaviest defeat of the Super League season when they lost 34-18 to the Warrington Wolves, head coach Daryl Powell was disappointed with his side’s performance and knows that the Tigers face two tough challenges in the next two weeks. 

“We looked a bit clunky as you would expect with so many positional changes, but at the end of the day we have bigger battles to fight and two big weeks ahead of us,” Powell told BBCSport. 

“We have Leeds next week and then Warrington again in a Challenge Cup semi-final so we will regroup quickly, we will hopefully get some of the boys back and will be a resemblance of the team we know we can be.”

When it comes to team news, Liam Watts returns to the Tigers lineup after picking up a two-game ban for a high tackle made against Salford in the last round of the Challenge Cup. 

Fullback Niall Evalds and back-rower Adam Milner will be absent for Powell’s side. For Richard Agar injuries have also been an issue. 

Rob Lui, Harry Newman and Alex Sutcliffe are all missing for the Rhinos with Jarrod O’Connor, Sam Walters, Jack Broadbent and Bodene Thompson all returning to the matchday squad. One of the Rhinos biggest weakness’s are both of their flanks, something that Powell be wanting his players to take advantage of. 

Leeds second-rower Alex Mellor is positive that a result against their local rivals at the Jungle can kick start their season and change the club’s fortunes around. Four points are all that Agar’s side have achieved this season with their two wins both coming against Wakefield Trinity.

“It’s a massive game, I think every game that comes at us now is pretty big with the start we’ve had,” Mellor told the Yorkshire Evening Post.

The two sides have met once before this season with the Tigers coming away 18-10 winners at Headingly back in April thanks to tries from Oliver Holmes, Niall Evalds and Jordan Turner. 

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