Castleford Tigers: We won't get carried away says Powell

TABLE-TOPPING CASTLEFORD Tigers will keep their feet on the ground, coach Daryl Powell reckons.
Daryl PowellDaryl Powell
Daryl Powell

Tigers, along with defending champions Wigan Warriors, are the early pace-setters in Betfred Super League, having won their opening four games.

Their thrilling attacking play, which has produced 174 points, has grabbed the headlines, but Powell is confident Tigers will stay focused despite all the “pats on the back”.

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“The signs so far are that they are a pretty focused group,” said Powell, whose side won 34-0 at Widnes Vikings two days ago.

“Everything’s positive at the minute, but you are never the finished article, regardless of how well you are going.

“Widnes [who finished seventh in 2016] were top at this stage last year, so we aren’t going to get too far ahead of ourselves.

“That’s a big thing for us.”

Powell was delighted with Tigers’ rare clean sheet at Widnes

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“They put a lot of pressure on us and we had to dig in and fight our way out of trouble,” he reflected.

“There were some really pleasing signs from a defensive point of view.

“Widnes did a great job on us at the start, they started really well and we didn’t score until the 22nd minute.

“They had five sets on our line and we had to dig deep, but we did it pretty well.

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“We are averaging only 12 points conceded in the first four games and that is promising, but we have got to continue to work on it.

“We are mindful that we’ve got some challenges coming up and we’ve got to be on our game every week.”

Powell said his team – who travel to Salford Red Devils on Sunday – came through with no major new injuries.