Castleford Tigers v Leeds Rhinos: Let's not get carried away with ourselves says Powell

Tigers will go into tonight’s home derby with Leeds Rhinos top of the early-season Betfred Super League table after winning both their opening two matches.

Last week’s 30-22 victory at Warrington Wolves marked them out as one of the teams to beat this year, but Powell knows things could quickly go wrong if they take their eye off the ball.

“It’s important for us not to get too carried away,” warned the Cas coach. “We are getting so many pats on the back at the moment and I think they are warranted, but it’s important we are focused. If you turn up with a sloppy attitude then Leeds will certainly do a job on you.”

Powell stressed: “We’ve just got to make sure our game’s good, that everybody’s focused and we do what we need to do; we lay the foundations and then play well. If we play well then we are confident, there’s no doubt about that, but I don’t want us to be over-confident – that’s really important I think with us at the moment.”

More than 9,200 tickets have already been sold and Powell wants his team to make the most of the occasion as they bid for a fifth straight win against Rhinos.

He said: “It should be a special atmosphere – it usually is against Leeds. We will be looking to put on a performance that gives everybody in Castleford colours something to cheer about.”