Tigers look to keep momentum as they face table topping Dragons

Castleford Tigers will be looking at their win over Wakefield Trinity as a possible stepping stone to getting their Super League campaign back on track when they face top of the table Catalans Dragons.

It is safe to say that the Dragons have had one of their best starts to a season since they were brought into Super League in 2006 under Steve McNamara. The former Bradford Bulls and England coach has got the French side playing expansive and exciting Rugby League this season.

English fullback Sam Tomkins has been a revelation this season for the Dragons and is in the best period of his career since his first spell at the Wigan Warriors. His performances have seen him enter contention for the fullback spot at this year’s Rugby League world cup. 

Catalans are known for being a very physical side, creating a lot of problems down the middle for teams that they come up against.With a break in their playing schedule Steve McNamara’s side will be fully fit heading into Thursday nights game. 

Castleford head coach Daryl Powell spoke about the threat and creativity that the Dragons have especially with Sam Kasiano and Julian Bousquet not featuring in this weeks England vs Combined Nations game. 

“Having a couple of weeks off means one of two things, they are unbelievably fresh and going at it or they could be a little bit rusty. We are going to have to impact the game the way we can and see what happens from there.

“They have Bousquet and Kasiano, they would have been in the All Stars team you would have thought but they are not. 

“We have to deal with the big players that they have and we  have to defend immaculately against this team, they are very skilful. You have Mourgue at fullback who fills in for Tomkins and he is like lighting. We just need to play well against teams in the top four.”

When it comes to form, the Tigers have a poor showing at home this season with just one win in their last four home games with a 52-16 win over bottom of the table Leigh Centurions being their last victory in Super League at the Jungle. 

For the Dragons they head into this weeks match up on the back of four straight wins including wins over reigning champions St Helens and a 48-0 thumping of Wigan. 

Meanwhile, the Tigers head into the game on the back of an 18-12 win over Wakefield Trinity. Daryl Powell has talked about the injuries picked up by Jake Trueman and Gareth O’Brien who will be unavailable for the Dragons fixture with the former still two to three weeks away from full recovery. 

“He’s not too bad, two or three weeks away, it’s not the disaster it looked like initially so I am hopeful he will be okay in the next weeks or so,” added Powell

“We have Jake Trueman who has had an injection in his back, hopefully, he will be okay because we lack a bit of direction at the moment we are pulling people from different positions and slotting them in and it’s been a constant for us.

“As a coach, I want a bit of consistency which is massive for us at the moment. It’s tough picking a team week to week and no consistency in selection.”

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