Castleford Tigers keen to ruin Israel Folau's Catalans Dragons debut

Coach Daryl Powell is confident Castleford Tigers can rain on Catalans Dragons’ parade this weekend.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Catalans are expecting a bumper crowd for controversial signing Israel Folau’s debut on Saturday, but Tigers will fly to France in high spirits.

They have made a perfect start to the Betfred Super League season with back-to-back wins over Toronto Wolfpack and Wigan Warriors and Powell pledged: “I think we’ve got to go everywhere with confidence.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Powell said: “We had a really good pre-season and we’ve won games while we’ve been pretty low on troops.

George Griffin (left is set to return from a head injury suffered against Torotnto, but Adam Milner (right) remains sidelined. Picture by Tony Johnson.George Griffin (left is set to return from a head injury suffered against Torotnto, but Adam Milner (right) remains sidelined. Picture by Tony Johnson.
George Griffin (left is set to return from a head injury suffered against Torotnto, but Adam Milner (right) remains sidelined. Picture by Tony Johnson.

“It’s a massive pat on the back for the players who’ve gone out and done that.

“It means we will be bringing players back in who are going to add to us.

“Hopefully we can get a fully-fit squad at some point and have competition for places and that will be a great headache for me.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Catalans have played only once this year, losing 32-12 at home to Huddersfield Giants in round one.

Israel Folau at Stade Gilbert Brutus. Picture  Laurent Selles/Catalans Dragons/PA Wire.Israel Folau at Stade Gilbert Brutus. Picture  Laurent Selles/Catalans Dragons/PA Wire.
Israel Folau at Stade Gilbert Brutus. Picture Laurent Selles/Catalans Dragons/PA Wire.

Their fixture at Wakefield Trinity last Sunday was a victim of Storm Ciara, but Powell said: “I watched their game against Huddersfield and Huddersfield outplayed them.

“They kicked well, scored three tries from kicks and dominated that part of the game.

“I know a fair bit about them, there won’t be a massive amount of difference [from last year].

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Josh Drinkwater is back and I think Israel Folau will play this week so it will be interesting to see how he goes, but we have just got to focus on ourselves.”

Folau has been named in Dragons’ initial squad for the first time.

If selected, it will be the winger’s first game of any sort since last April and his return to rugby league after a decade away.

The dual-code international was sacked last year by Rugby Australia for making homophobic comments on social media and Powell said Tigers are keen to test whether he is “still any good” at the 13-a-side game.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“He is a big, athletic player who can cause you a lot of trouble,” Powell warned.

“He has got an outstanding right-foot step.

“He was an outstanding rugby league player before he went and became an outstanding rugby union player.

“How long it takes him to adapt I don’t know, but we certainly have to be aware of the threat he will pose.

“He hasn’t played rugby league for 10 years so you want to see if he’s still any good at it.

“We’ll have a good go at that, I think.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mike McMeeken has been named in Tigers’ 21-man squad after a calf injury and George Griffin and Tyla Hepi are cleared to return following concussion suffered in round one, though Adam Milner remains sidelined.

After taking a bang to the head against Toronto, he suffered a knock in training and could be unavailable for another two weeks.

“Sosaia Feki and Jesse Sene-Lefao are a couple of weeks away, but we’ve got real strength in depth,” Powell said.

“Pete Matautia will be back for next Friday’s game [against Wakefield] after suspension so from my perspective some really strong players are coming in to create a real competitive environment and that brings the best out of players

" We’ve had a couple of injuries early on but it has given the opportunity for a few young players to show that they can handle it, people like Jacques O’Neill, Tyla Hepi and Sam Hall.”