Tigers chase second win of the season as newcomers arrive at The Jungle

Castleford Tigers will be looking to use their recent Challenge Cup win over the Leeds Rhinos to get their Super League season back on track as they create history by welcoming Toulouse Olympique to the Jungle for the first time.

A ‘New Cas Era’ were the words thrown about at the start of the 2022 season as the Tigers entered a new era under the helm of Lee Radford as Daryl Powell started his coaching career at Warrington.

However, the Super League season has not gone well for them so far with a 33-26 win over Hull FC seeing the Tigers gain their only two points of the season with Radford’s side looking like they lacked any direction.

What must be remembered is this is a new team, a new coach and a new philosophy. So systems will take time to be put in place and it isn’t quite panic stations yet for the Tigers faithful.

An impressive Challenge Cup performance against a Leeds Rhinos side who themselves are struggling has given the Tigers a small lift ahead of Friday night’s game and they had a lot of positives to take from the clash against the Rhinos.

Joe Westerman and Kenny Edwards, both of whom are new additions to the squad this season, put in a professional performance throughout the 80 minutes as they played a key part in the Tigers’ defensive and attacking options.

The Tigers looked like they had found their rhythm at last as they came away from Headingley with a 40-16 victory.

For Toulouse, they picked up their first-ever win in Super League last week defeating a St Helens side that has won three Super League titles on the bounce, coming away 22-20 victors on their soil.

Matthew Russell, Dominic Peyroux, Chris Hankinson, and Paul Marcon all crossed the try line as the French side picked up a famous victory.

Head coach Sylvain Houles has got his side playing expansive rugby league similar to that of the Catalan Dragons with their solid backline and strong forwards who can carry the ball forward.

When it comes to team news, the Tigers have made just one change with Daniel Smith picking up a calf injury last week, James Clare entering the 21 man squad.

Assistant coach of the Tigers Andy Last knows his side will take confidence from their win over the Rhinos but knows that a lot of work still needs to be done.

“I think the big improvement from us at Leeds was from a defensive point of view and the fact that we managed to keep them under 18 points,” Last told Prost.

“We have taken confidence from that and it’s something that we have built on this week. We still are a work in progress, and I think we can improve but I think you could see our offensive power and strike that we have got.

“We’ve got huge respect for the job Sylvain Houles has done and they are going to be a well-drilled and well-coached side.

“To beat St Helens is a magnificent achievement and they played with real energy about them the other week. We need to take care of our attitude and make sure that we are all ready to play on Friday night.”

Team News:

Tigers Squad: 1. Niall Evalds 2. Derrell Olpherts 3. Jordan Turner 4. Jake Mamo 5. Bureta Faraimo 6. Jake Trueman 8. Liam Watts 9. Paul McShane 10. George Lawler 11. Kenny Edwards 12. Adam Milner 13. Joe Westerman 14. Nathan Massey 15. George Griffin 17. Mahe Fonua 19. Tyla Hepi 20. James Clare 21. Alex Sutcliffe 23. Greg Eden 25. Suaia Matagi 31. Gareth O’Brien

Toulouse Squad: 3. Junior Vaivai 5. Paul Marcon 7. Lucas Albert 8. Romain Navarrete 10. Harrison Hansen 11. Andrew Dixon 12. Dominique Peyroux 13. Anthony Marion 14. Eloi Pelissier 15. Maxime Puech 16. Joe Bretherton 17. Joseph Paulo 18. Mitch Garbutt 19. James Cunningham 21. Chris Hankinson 23. Justin Sangare 24. Guy Armitage 25. Matthew Russell 27. Olly Ashall-Bott 30. Maxime Stefani 31. Tony Gigot

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