Catalans Dragons v Castleford Tigers: Prop Mitch Clark confident of netting two points from trip to France

Already down on numbers, Tigers lost forwards Jesse Sene-Lefao (dislocated shoulder) and Oliver Holmes (knee) during last Thursday’s 28-26 home win over Wakefield Trinity.

That added an extra level of difficulty to an already tough challenge at Catalans Dragons tomorrow, but Clark reckons their chances rest on being consistent over the full 80 minutes, whoever features in the 17.

After staging a series of comebacks in recent weeks, Cas led by 20 points late in the second half against Trinity, but were hanging on at the end.

“The boys started like a house on fire,” said Clark who was among Tigers’ substitutes three days ago.

“We have to carry that into the Catalans game. The Easter period is quite tough, with a few games over a short amount of time, so we have to recover well and keep going.”

Clark had only limited game time against Trinity, but is likely to see more action tomorrow.

“We are doing it tough at the moment,” he admitted of the injury crisis.

“We only had two subs [on Thursday] and we are just going to have to dig in. Last year we went to Catalans and we were, I think, 24-0 down at half-time in the hot weather. It’s a tough trip and one we are really going to have to dig in for. Catalans have some big boys who like to off-load so we will have to deal with that.”

Clark was injured early in the season and admitted he is still finding his way back.

“I am trying to get back match fitness,” he said. “I am not too pleased with my performance, but I can only get more training into my legs and hopefully I can make more of an impact than I did [on Thursday].

“I didn’t get much time and didn’t make the best decisions when I was out there. My role is impact and I try and bring that the best I can.

“It’s something I need to be a lot better on and have a more positive performance.”

Paul McShane will return from suspension tomorrow afternoon and Chris Clarkson is available following a hamstring problem.

Tuoyo Egodo, Will Maher and Lewis Peachey – who could make his debut – are also in contention, with Jacques O’Neill dropping out.

David Mead and Brayden Wiliame could return for Catalans.

Catalans Dragons: from Gigot, Mead, Wiliame, Tierney, Langi, Casty, Moa, Edwards, Bird, Bousquet, Simon, Jullien, Whitley, Da Costa, Goudemand, Baitieri, Romano, Kasiano, Tomkins.

Castleford Tigers: from Aston, Clare, Clark, Clarkson, Eden, Egodo, Maher, Massey, Mata’utia, McMeeken, McShane, Milner, Minikin, Moors, Peachey, Shenton, Smith, Trueman, Watts.

Referee: James Child (Dewsbury).

Kick-off: Today, 5pm UK time.