Castleford Tigers boss Daryl Powell putting pressure on all his players

WINGERS JAMES Clare and Greg Eden know what they need to do to play a part for Castleford Tigers this season, coach Daryl Powell says.
Castleford Tigers head coach Daryl Powell.Castleford Tigers head coach Daryl Powell.
Castleford Tigers head coach Daryl Powell.

The pair – along with forwards Junior Moors and Matt Cook – have dropped out of Tigers’ top-20 squad numbers and Powell said: “It doesn’t really mean anything for team selection, but I have got to make a call on squad numbers.

“Derrell Olpherts has had an outstanding pre-season and obviously Sosaia Feki is going to be a front-line winger for us. There’s a real challenge for Greg and James to improve and get in the team.

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“We’ve clearly gone for some size in our outside-backs this year and those two players know exactly where they stand and what they’ve got to do to get in the team. It is pretty competitive everywhere, which is what we wanted.”

Castleford Tigers' James Clare.Castleford Tigers' James Clare.
Castleford Tigers' James Clare.

Meanwhile, Powell says Tigers have some hard work to do before their first Betfred Super League game against Toronto Wolfpack at Emerald Headingley on Sunday, February 2.

Tigers were beaten 16-10 by Toronto in Michael Shenton’s testimonial game yesterday and Powell admitted he was “disappointed” by his side’s effort.

He said: “I feel we’ve had a really good pre-season, but that performance didn’t show it.

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“There were some elements of the first half, particularly defensively, where we looked really good, but we never really got going on a heavy pitch.”

Castleford's Greg Eden.Castleford's Greg Eden.
Castleford's Greg Eden.

Powell added: “It was a really slow game and never got any fluidity.

“We are playing the same opposition [in round one] and we’ve had a look at them and they’ve had a look at us so it will be an interesting game in a couple of weeks. There’s a lot for us to work on, but I think it will be added motivation to get the next couple of weeks right.”

Shenton’s return from an ankle injury suffered last April was ended early by a “head knock” and Tigers have a concern over forward Jesse Sene-Lefao.

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“It’s a strange one,” Powell said of Sene-Lefao’s injury. “I’m not sure exactly what he has done. It looked like a dead leg, but it looked like it might be a bit worse than that after the game so we’ll get a check on him and see where he’s at.”