Wakefield look to end losing streak against local rivals Castleford

Wakefield Trinity will be looking to bounce back from defeat to Warrington Wolves last week when they take on local rivals Castleford Tigers at the Mobile Rocket Stadium, who currently also find themselves on a losing run in Super League.

Trinity head coach Chris Chester has had a rough time over his last 14 months with the club, going on a run of nine games without a win earlier in the year, though three wins in a row had looked to have given the side momentum as they triumphed over Hull Kingston Rovers, Huddersfield Giants and Leigh Centurions.

However, a Josh Charnley hat trick for Warrington in their 38-18 victory over Wakefield contributed to halting Chester’s men in their push up the table. Trinity were undone by the performance of Gareth Widdop – who played a key role in both of the Wolves’ opening tries – and being able to deal with a team’s halfback is something that Wakefield will need to improve upon on Wednesday as Castleford come to town in the ‘Calder derby’.

Like Widdop, the Tigers’ Gareth O’Brien has had an impressive start to the campaign at halfback, whether that be alongside Jake Trueman or Danny Richardson. Ex-Toronto Wolfpack man O’Brien impressed in Castleford’s recent Challenge Cup semi-final success against Warrington, helping the side to victory and to book their place in the competition’s final at Wembley next month in the process.

Despite that success, Daryl Powell’s Cas side head to Wakefield on the back of a four successive losses in Super League, including three home defeats to Hull FC, Leeds Rhinos and Hull KR respectively. Those three matches at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle have also seen the Tigers concede an average of 38 points per game, an indication that their defence may well be considered a weakness. 

That said, injuries have taken their toll on Castleford’s squad so far this season and rotation has been inevitable. For their meeting with Trinity, boss Powell is able to call upon all four of Niall Evalds, the aforementioned O’Brien, Daniel Smith and Jason Qareqare. The latter of those – 17-year-old Qareqare – was the standout performer for Cas in last week’s defeat to Hull FC, scoring after just a minute on debut and making a dream start to his Tigers’ career. 

Head-to-Head

If history is anything to go by, then Wakefield are in for a long night in front of their home support on Wednesday as they haven’t been successful in their last 14 attempts to triumph over fellow Yorkshiremen Castleford. In fact, the Tigers have come out on top in all of those previous 14 meetings dating all the way back to 2015.

Trinity’s last success was a 24-22 win away at the ‘Jungle’, so if they are to come out on top this time around, the likelihood is they’ll have to do it the hard way.

Quotes

Chris Chester (Speaking to the Wakefield Express): “I am really confident going into this game, as Daryl [Powell] will be. We haven’t discussed it [the long-running losing streak against Castleford]as a group, sometimes you get bogged down by these kind of things and I don’t want it to be in the back of players’ minds. I just want them to focus on what’s important – which is individually being the best version of themselves.”

Daryl Powell: “Wakefield are playing really well with the ball and they will certainly challenge us.”

“Jesse [Sene Lefao, set to make his 100th appearance for Cas at Wakefield] is great, he’s just got unbounded enthusiasm and I think he’s playing really well at the moment, as well as I’ve seen him play over here.

“I’m really pleased with the way he’s responded in the past three or four weeks – he’s annoying at times but good to have around the place overall!”

Team News

Both teams have named their squads for the Super League clash, which can be found below:

Wakefield Trinity: Jowitt, Johnstone, Tupou, Lyne, Kay, Miller, Lino, Fifita, Wood, Arona, Ashurst, Tanginoa, Westerman, Pitts, Battye, Batchelor, Crowther, Arundel, Walker, Aydin, Kershaw

Castleford Tigers: Evalds, Olpherts, Mata’utia, Shenton, Richardson, Watts, McShane, Holmes, Massey, Griffin, Foster, O’Neill, Hepi, Sene Lefao, Smith, Matagi, Turner, Peachey, Martin, O’Brien, Qareqare

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