Castleford Tigers will be looking to go out with a bang when they bring the curtain down on their season at home to Bradford Bulls this evening.
Tigers will finish bottom of engage Super League, but boss Terry Matterson is adamant they have every incentive to end a difficult year on a positive note.
"We are approaching it the same as we did the last game," said Matterson, whose side hammer
ed Warrington Wolves 44-24 at the Jungle two weeks ago.
"We've got nothing in the league to play for, but there's plenty of reasons to play well.
"There's pride and we would like to finish with our first back-to-back wins.
"The fans have been great, they have stuck with us and the majority of them are understanding of where we are this year, what we've had to deal with and where we are heading. It would be nice to reward them.
"We have performed against most teams at one stage this year, either at home or away.
"Against Bradford we haven't, so there's enough to play for."
Joint-captain Awen Guttenbeil – returning to his home country of New Zealand – and full-back/stand-off Luke Dorn – who has signed for Harlequins – will both be making their final appearance for Tigers.
Several other players, including full-back Stuart Donlan who is poised to join Leigh, are also set to depart after this evening's game and Matterson said:
"There's going to be a bit of movement. They are a pretty solid group and what we've done over the last eight or nine games is probably testament to that.
"There's plenty of pride in this group and it'd be great, in our last game together as a group, to go out with a win.
"We know the size of the task. Bradford are going to have plenty to play for, so it will be a really good test for both teams."
Tigers are two points adrift of second-bottom Hull, who face Hull KR tomorrow, but the East Yorkshire outfit's points difference advantage ensures the wooden spoon will be returning to the Jungle, for the second time in five seasons.
Matterson said: "It would be nice if we could finish level on points with Hull.
"It will be hard for them to back up this week, after the Cup final, and if we can finish level with them it will feel like we have fought to the end."
Bulls boss Steve McNamara is preparing his team for a battle.
"It'll be very tough," he said. "They will be buoyed by their last performance and they've had some very good performances this year.
"I'm sure they'll want to finish strongly, in a positive manner.
The full article contains 461 words and appears in EP Leeds First & County newspaper.
