Super League Super-8s: Castleford Tigers aim to home in on semi-final advantage

The 36-4 win over Ladbrokes Challenge Cup champions Catalans Dragons three days ago lifted Castleford to third in the Betfred Super-8s, three points behind second-placed Wigan Warriors, but eight ahead of Huddersfield Giants in fifth.

They will mathematically guarantee a top-four place if they avoid defeat at Hull on Friday, but Millington said they still have hopes of climbing a place on the ladder.

“They are going great,” he said of Wigan who won 30-10 at leaders St Helens last Friday.

“They were fantastic last week.

“They are really kicking up a notch and we’ve got to do the same.

“We are trying to keep in touch with them and hopefully they will slip.

“It feels like we’ll pretty much have to win the rest of our games, but at the moment I don’t see why we can’t do that.”

Millington said Tigers have taken confidence from their defensive effort against Catalans.

“We were at our best with the ball, but we’re really happy with the way we defended,” he said.

“There was a bit of an excuse for them with the massive week they’d had and celebrating that – and so they should – but they’ve still got dangerous players all over the pitch and I think we defended them really well.”

Millington added: “Sometimes you have those weeks when you feel like defensively you can’t really be cracked and we had that on Saturday and the previous game against Warrington as well.

“Hopefully it’s something we can keep building on because, even if you don’t attack well, if your defence is strong you are pretty hard to beat.”

Tigers’ last try against Catalans began with a huge run by Millington from close to his own line, though he opted to use his support rather than going for glory himself.

He said: “I used to be a winger, then I put on about 30 kilos and I just can’t do it any more!”