Super League opportunities knock for the game’s rising stars – Luke Gale

ONE GOOD thing that’s going to come out of a bad situation this year is the number of kids who will get a chance to show what they can do, whether because other players are isolating, or through injuries or more experienced players being rested.
Leeds Rhinos' Jarrod O'Connor. Picture: Phil Daly/Leeds Rhinos/SWpix.com.Leeds Rhinos' Jarrod O'Connor. Picture: Phil Daly/Leeds Rhinos/SWpix.com.
Leeds Rhinos' Jarrod O'Connor. Picture: Phil Daly/Leeds Rhinos/SWpix.com.

Wakefield gave a couple of their young boys a debut last week and they did a good job, and I think Jacques O’Neill has really stood out for Castleford.

Tommy Holroyd, Callum McLelland and Alex Sutcliffe have all had an opportunity for us so far this season and Jarrod O’Connor and Sam Walters are in the 21 for tonight’s game.

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I have been impressed by both of them in training; in pre-season they were outstanding and they’ve come back in good shape.

Sam Walters in pre-season. Picture: Bruce Rollinson/JPIMedia.Sam Walters in pre-season. Picture: Bruce Rollinson/JPIMedia.
Sam Walters in pre-season. Picture: Bruce Rollinson/JPIMedia.
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They are both from the same sort of area and play a similar position; they are two highly-promising kids and I love their attitude in training, how hard they work.

They have been catching the eye in training and I’m sure, if Rich gives them the nod, they will both take their chance and not look out of place.

They have both got a big future.

Castleford Tigers' Jacques O'Neill. Picture: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.Castleford Tigers' Jacques O'Neill. Picture: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.
Castleford Tigers' Jacques O'Neill. Picture: Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.

Because we have got players like Sam and Jarrod in the squad, we can cope with some disruption and adversity.

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We found out on Wednesday morning one of the squad has tested positive for Covid but, with it only affecting him and a couple of others because of track and trace, it is business as usual. It can’t be helped, it is an on-going theme at the moment and every time I do this column I keep mentioning the word Covid, so I suppose it was only a matter of time until we had a positive test.

Our boys have been, as I guess the whole competition has, really strict and stringent and we’ve done everything we can to try and keep the virus away but it is out there in society and we aren’t immune.

At this stage, it is only one player who has got it and it’s just one of those things; we have to move on and adapt.

We haven’t been as badly affected as some; we have a big squad and we will deal with it. There’s always a bit of extra excitement when the Challenge Cup comes along but it is a bit strange this year.

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We are in the quarter-finals without a ball being kicked but we know we have got our hands full tonight.

We are up against a Hull KR side who are high in confidence at the minute and are playing well.

We know it is going to be tough but we’ve spoken this week about how the opportunity is a bit different this year.

We are two games away from being in a cup final but you can only take one game at a time.

The boys have trained well and they know what’s at stake.

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It has been a good week’s prep’ and we are expecting a really good, tough game.

Rovers are in good form and enjoying what they are doing but we’ve had two good wins, in different ways, by 38 points and one point.

I feel it’s hard to get momentum at the moment; it’s almost stop-start every week and you’re never sure if or when you’ll be playing.

We had a week off for the Cup, we played Salford which was a good result and then the Wakefield game was called off.

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That makes it tough to get into a rhythm but the manner in which we won last week was tough and gritty and I am sure we’ll need to be the same tonight.

One thing we have to improve on is our start.

I thought we started really well against Salford but not so good against Huddersfield.

But, whatever we do, I think it will be a tough game and we are all going to need to be at our best to win it and get through to the semi-finals.

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