Castleford Tigers pin-point Leeds Rhinos dangerman as boss admits 'always been a big fan'

McGuire has pin-pointed the former England man as a major threat in Saturday’s derby at the Jungle and admitted Tigers can’t let Connor show the form which has taken him top of the Betfred Super League Man of Steel leaderboard. McGuire had some fierce battles against Connor in his playing days and admitted: “I’ve always been a big fan.”

Speaking at his weekly preview press conference today (Friday), McGuire said: “I’ve always liked him - not so much when I played against him. I wanted to strangle him! But he is a good player, he’s skilful and a maverick and he looks like he has found his home there.”

Connor has always had a fiery reputation, but McGuire added: “By all accounts, Brad Arthur [Rhinos’ coach] has challenged him and it seems like he is playing more disciplined. You never want to take that edge away from a player, it’s what makes the player, but it seems like he has got a real good balance between that and what he is delivering for the team. He is going to be a big threat for them tomorrow. He has probably been one of the better players in the competition so far this year.”

Of how Tigers will handle that, McGuire insisted: “We are aware of his threats and what he can do. We are ready for it - I won’t instruct my players to do anything different than they’d [normally] do, but he’s definitely somebody we are going to have to watch.

“He is probably expecting us to run some traffic around him, which we will do - we are not going to disappoint him in that area. But that’s always the game, that’s how the game is played. You try and nullify the threats of the key players you are playing against.”

Both teams have a relatively clean bill of health and could be unchanged. Tigers have won three of their opening 11 Super League games this year, beating bottom club Salford Red Devils twice - including a 48-16 victory last weekend - along with the other team below them, Huddersfield Giants. The challenge now is to get a victory against a side higher up the ladder.

McGuire admitted: “It would be really nice to get a win, first and foremost and especially against a team who are potentially going to be in the top two or three. That would give us a lift and I feel like we are in a position to compete and go and play tough.”

Tomorrow is McGuire’s first home game against his former club as Tigers boss. Leeds - who inducted him into their Hall of Fame earlier this month - will go third in the table if they win, but McGuire stressed he’d be happy to rain on their parade.

“Everyone knows my connections with the Rhinos and I’d never want to change that,” the eight-time Grand Final winner said. “But now I am loving my time at Cas, loving my job and loving being part of this group and this club moving forward. I am excited about what we can do in the future. This is where I am at the minute and if I can contribute to the downfall of the Rhinos, hopefully I can do that.”

Meanwhile, Tigers’ ex-Leeds forward Alex Mellor has signed a new contract which will keep him at the club until the end of 2027.

Castleford Tigers: from Hoy, Cini, Wood, I Senior, Asi, Milnes, Horne, Lawler, Mellor, Westerman, Robb, S Hall, Mustapha, L Senior, Simm, Okoro, Singleton, Salabio, Amone, Atkin, Djeukessi.

Leeds Rhinos: from Miller, Newman, Handley, R Hall, Croft, Frawley, Oledzki, Palasia, Bentley, McDonnell, C Smith, O'Connor, Lisone, Gannon, Jenkins, Connor, Holroyd, Sinfield, Lumb, Clark-Wood, Watkins.

Referee: Liam Rush (Dewsbury/Batley). Kick-off: Saturday, 2.30pm.