Hull FC v Castleford Tigers: momentum important in tight Super League race says Alex Mellor

Mellor joined Castleford from Leeds Rhinos midway through last season, which ended with them seventh in the table

Tigers missed out on a play-offs place in the final eight minutes of the campaign, after being pipped by Leeds, but Mellor insisted they are “quietly confident” of a better year ahead, beginning at Hull on Sunday.

“We aren’t going to shout from the rooftops about how well we are going to do,” he pledged. “That is all kept in-house. We know the competition is going to be strong this year, teams have strengthened pretty well and we’re going to have to perform at our best every week.

“But I think momentum is a big thing in sport and how we start, in the first couple of weeks, is really going to determine this block of the season.

“Our focus is on performance and getting a couple of tough wins in the first four or five games. We’ve got a pretty tough start so it’s about knuckling down and trying to perform.”

Tigers played four pre-season games, beating Keighley Cougars, Whitehaven and Huddersfield Giants after a second-string side lost to Featherstone Rovers.

Mellor said they have built slowly, but are ready for the competitive action to begin. He added: “I feel like we are getting somewhere.

“Our combinations are coming now and we’re getting a lot of cohesion in the team. Another thing we’ve got going really well is the team spirit.

“We are a close-knit team, you can see that on the training field and off the field and that’s always a big help.”

New coach Tony Smith will be in charge of Hull for the first time this weekend and Mellor reckons it is a difficult initial task for Tigers.

“They are always a big side,” he noted. “They get their crowd behind them and we know it’s going to be a physical challenge.

“We’ve just got to be up for it and try and match that if we can. It’ll be massive [if Tigers win], it would just solidify what we’ve done in pre-season and put to bed any ghosts.

“Our focus is on week-in, week-out. We’re not too bothered about the bigger picture and to get off to a good start would be fantastic.”

Former Rhinos pair Jack Broadbent and Muizz Mustapha have both been named in Tigers’ initial 21-man squad and could make their debut, alongside fellow recruits Gareth Widdop, Jacob Miller and Albert Vete.

Another ex-Leeds duo, Liam Sutcliffe and Brad Dwyer, are among Hull’s potential debutants. Tex Hoy and Jake Clifford could also make their first appearance for the black and whites.

Hull - who visit Rhinos next Friday - are without Carlos Tuimavave, ex-Cas stand-off Jake Trueman, Connor Wynne, Mitieli Vulikijapani and Jamie Shaul through injury, but Andre Savelio has recovered from knee damage and could feature for the first time since last April.

Hull FC: from Hoy, Swift, Sutcliffe, McIntosh, Clifford, Sao, Houghton, Satae, Savelio, Lane, Fash, Lovodua, Cator, Evans, Scott, McNamara, Brown, Griffin, Litten, Taylor, Dwyer.

Castleford Tigers: from Evalds, Turner, Fonua, Faraimo, Widdop, Miller, Lawler, McShane, Griffin, Edwards, Mellor, Westerman, Massey, Milner, Broadbent, Vete, Mustapha, Mamo, Matagi, Robb, Watts.

Referee: Marcus Griffiths (Widnes).

Kick-off: Sunday, 3pm.