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RYAN CLAYTON: I'm just glad to be back
It is great to be back in action after 18 months that were a nightmare for me.
I did my shoulder in a pre-season friendly in January last year. I tried to play on with it and that was probably a mistake.
I got through 12 or 13 games, but then I had to have an operation in July.
Then I had complications in pre-season which set me back even further.
All in all, I was out a long time and it was a really frustrating period, not being able to train or help the boys on the field.
What kept me going was the thought of getting back into a Tigers jersey.
I made my comeback in the game against St Helens last month, which was a bit of a rude awakening.
But I played on Saturday as well, in the cup tie against Halifax, which was a bit more of a competitive game and that was good for me.
I am feeling fine and the target now is to get as many minutes on the field under my belt as I can this year.
I have been training hard and I want to thank our conditioner Kevin Till and physio Russ Jones who have helped me a lot. They put a lot of time and effort into getting me back on to the field and I hope I can repay them with some good performances.
I also want to thank the club for sticking by me over the last 18 months.
I am happy with how things are going now and I'm hoping to take another step forward against Leeds Rhinos at the Jungle tomorrow.
That's a game I think everybody connected with Castleford puts a ring around on the calendar.
There's a lot of history and a lot of rivalry between the teams.
It's always a great atmosphere down at the Jungle when Leeds come to play and I can't wait.
That's the kind of thing I was dreaming about when I was injured, getting back and playing in games like that.
Hopefully, we will put on a performance for our home fans.
It has been a bit of a u-turn this year. Last season we were very good at home, but struggled away.
This year our away form has been fine, but we don't seem to perform as well at the Jungle, which is frustrating and pretty disappointing for everyone.
Tomorrow would be the ideal time to put it right.
Leeds have had their ups and downs this year, like we have. You're never quite sure what you are going to get from them, but we will prepare the best we can and we have the utmost respect for them. We will give it 100 per cent and if we can improve on a few things in defence, we should go a long way towards winning the game. We believe that on our day, we can compete with anyone.
At the moment, all we are thinking about is Super League, but it's good to have a Challenge Cup quarter-final to look forward to later this month.
Huddersfield Giants away is a tough tie, but it could have been worse and we know it's a game we are capable of winning.
We want to win the cup this year and to do that you have to beat the best sides, so it's a game we will be relishing.
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Weather for Leeds
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
