Castleford Tigers on the hunt for a late play-off surge as they face Salford Red Devils

Castleford Tigers will be looking to get back to winning ways as they aim to make a late chase for the Super League play-offs when they face Salford Red Devils at this year’s Magic Weekend.

The Tigers head into this weekend’s fixture at St James’ Park on the back of a 22-0 loss to Wigan Warriors.

Four wins on the bounce previous to Monday’s defeat gave Daryl Powell’s side momentum heading into the business end of the season as they chase a top-six finish.

Salford have struggled this year at times but a confident boosting 42-14 win last week against Hull FC has given them momentum and confidence heading into the Magic Weekend, something that Head Coach Richard Marshall reflected on pre-game.

“The moods always good after a victory,” Marshall told Prost International.

“There is a bounce in everyone’s step there always is, but certainly after that performance we are confident and excited about going up to Newcastle.

“We’re looking forward to going up there and being part of the carnival atmosphere, it’s my first time as a Head Coach. I want to soak it all up and we can put on a performance for our fans and back up the performance from last week.

“Yes we are not in the top six and there isn’t a lot for us to play for, but I think that is the motivation for the players and we feel that we have underperformed this year at times and we want to finish the season really well.”

Red Devils half-back Kevin Brown has been on the sidelines for a few weeks with a foot injury and is retiring at the end of the season. This will be his last Magic Weekend having played in the very first instalment of the event back in 2007.

“I’m hoping Kevin is going to be involved, he’s one of our biggest players it will be good to give him a good send off with him retiring at the end of the season,” added Marshall.

“Kevin has been good for me as a senior player if we can get him involved in the game it will be a good tribute for him and he’s been really good for Salford and other clubs as well.”

Tigers Head Coach Daryl Powell will be taking charge of his final Magic Weekend fixture this weekend as his coaching time at Castleford comes to an end.

With three games of the season remaining, Powell wants to makes sure that his side take every opportunity and insists the game against Salford is a must win along with the other remaining games in the Super League season.

“I think I’ve savoured quite a lot this year, we have a specific challenge on our hands to make the top six. Every game matters, we have three games left and I think we need to win all three to be honest,” Powell told Prost International.

“This game is key one for us, I need to pick the team accordingly and it’s going to be a tough game, Salford are really challenging and we will need both sides of the ball to be outstanding.

“I think there’s no pressure on them as they have nothing to lose. They’ve got some quick players on the edges, when it really counts for something you have to make sure your head needs to be where it needs to be.”

When it comes to team news and injuries, Powell has suggested the possibility of current Man of Steel Paul McShane returning to the fray, however, he also confirmed that winger Greg Eden who has hit a purple patch recently could be out for a while.

“He (McShane) had a scan and he’s not too bad and we will check him again in a couple of days time. He could potentially play but not 100% certain at the moment,” Powell added.

“He is an important player for us one of the best players in the competition, I thought we missed him at the weekend.”

“It’s just bruising but in a really sore area, he’s got to get his head around that and make sure he’s comfortable with that. He’s a really tough human being so he’ll be wanting to play for sure.

“Greg Eden has a hamstring tear so he’ll be out but we have a couple of options on the wing. He’s got to have a scan so we don’t know the severity of that. If it’s bad, he’ll be out for the season but I don’t think it will be.”

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