Castleford Tigers coach Ryan Carr has spoken out in support of winger Mikaele Ravalawa ahead of Saturday’s Challenge Cup fourth round tie at home to St Helens.

Ravalawa was at fault for Leeds Rhinos’ first try during Tigers’ defeat at AMT Headingley last Sunday, after failing to challenge for a high kick. A clip of the incident went viral on the internet, but Carr insisted he has full faith in the Fijian international.

“He knows he got it wrong,” Carr said at his weekly preview press conference today (Friday). “We have to move on and I’ve got a load of confidence he’ll get it done next time. We can’t dwell on things like that - people make mistakes and things go wrong, we’ve got to make sure they don’t recur.”

Ravalawa, signed in pre-season from Carr’s previous club St George-Illawarra Dragons, scored Tigers’ only try against Leeds and Carr insisted: “What we think about him and what he thinks about himself is the most important thing. We know who he is.

Castleford Tigers winger Mikaele Ravalawa seen scoring against St Helens in pre-season. Picture by Olly Hassell/SWpix.com.

placeholder image — Castleford Tigers winger Mikaele Ravalawa seen scoring against St Helens in pre-season. Picture by Olly Hassell/SWpix.com.

“He ran for over 200 metres against Leeds, scored a try and made a line-break straight through the middle. People want to talk about one moment, well what about the other positive things he did in that game for us?

“He competed extremely hard, I thought. He ran for more metres than anyone else in our team in that game. He is doing a lot right, we have got to make sure we keep focusing on what he is doing well and we know the player we’ve got. That’s all that matters.”

Another Fijian winger, Semi Valemei, has been named in Tigers’ initial 21-man squad for tomorrow, but is unlikely to make his debut. Valemei has been sidelined with a hamstring injury sustained in training and Carr said: “He’s probably one week away.

“There’s a temptation to rush him back in, but we have got to make sure when he is back, he stays back. It is frustrating, but he is training really well.

Prop Brock Greacen is expected to return for Castleford Tigers against S Helens on Saturday. Picture by Olly Hassell/SWpix.com.

Australian prop Brock Greacen is expected to return from injury and Carr feels that will give Tigers a lift in the middle of the field. “He has trained really well and is ticking all the boxes,” he said.

“If he gets through the captain’s run he should be available for selection. He brings a lot of energy, works really hard and competes really hard for everything. He has got good leg speed and good aggression, there’s a bit of old-school rugby player about him, which every team needs.”

Saints have won three of their opening four Betfred Super League matches and looking ahead to the tie, Carr warned: “They are always good, we know we are in for a game.They are stacked with quality players, they are a handful with the ball and play a lot of shape.

Castleford Tigers coach Ryan Carr. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.

“They move the ball around and have a lot of strong middles who are hard to handle. You can’t take a play off; we’ve got to make sure our concentration is high and our focus is good.”

But a win in the cup could kick-start Tigers’ season and Carr stressed: “It’s a great competition, it’s do or die and we’ve spoken a lot about how important it is to us. We are a new team and want to keep improving and get some consistency from week to week and within a game. We have to stay consistent for 80 minutes.”

Valemei’s inclusion, in place of Brad Singleton who didn’t play against Leeds, is the only change to Tigers’ 21-man squad. Chris Atkin and Jimmy Beckett are the other players vying for a call into the matchday side. Louis Senior, Cain Robb, Fletcher Rooney and Alex Mellor remain on the long-term casualty list.

Saints are without the injured trio of Jacob Host (broken leg), George Delaney (concussion) and Nene Macdonald from last week’s win against Bradford Bulls and Joe Shorrocks is beginning a two-match ban. Agnatius Paasi, Alfie Sinclair, Jake Burns and Chris Matagi have been drafted into their 21.

Castleford Tigers: from Valemei, Cini, McIntosh, Ravalawa, Asi, Weaver, Atoni, Hood, Lawler, Lane, Stimson, Greacen, Ashworth, Westerman, Atkin, Qareqare, Mapapalangi, Hall, Beckett, Golding, Hirst.

St Helens: from Feldt, Robertson, Percival, Cross, Sailor, Clark, Sironen, Wright, Klemmer, Whitley, Whitby, Wingfield, Paasi, Murphy, Stephens, Burns, Dagnall, Davies, Sinclair, Hastings, Matagi.

Referee: Aaron Moore. Kick-off: Saturday, 6pm.