Wigan vs Cas: Match Preview

Castleford Tigers travel to the DW Stadium on Thursday for Betfred Super League action against Wigan Warriors, with a kick-off time of 6pm live on Our League.

2021 Season Ticket holders can watch this game by logging into their account and using their unique code. If the code has already been redeemed for a previous match, you do NOT need to redeem it again.

FIGHTING FOR FIVE OUT OF FIVE

Both Castleford and Wigan have begun the new season strongly with three league victories and progressing through to the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup, so each side has won their opening four matches.

Castleford secured their victories over Warrington, Leeds, Hull KR and Leigh, whilst Wigan beat Leigh, Wakefield, York and Leeds, a victory for either side in action on Thursday evening would be a terrific early statement of intent for the campaign.

TIGERS TEAM NEWS

Daryl Powell will be without Jesse Sene-Lefao due to a one-match penalty notice and Gareth O’Brien who suffered an injury above the knee against Leigh Centurions last week, but it is hoped that the injury is not as bad as first thought. Danny Richardson has been named in the squad so could come back into the fold against Wigan.

Jordan Turner stepped in for O’Brien back at The Jungle last Friday evening and performed strongly in the halves, the utility outside back is proving to be a terrific addition to the Tigers squad already in 2021, covering in a couple of positions.

Meanwhile, Sam Hall and Brad Martin could be poised to make their first appearances of the season, Hall for the second week running has been named in Powell’s squad declaration, while Martin was named for the first time in the 21-man squad this year. Both Hall and Martin made their Super League debuts in 2020 and are two young guns hungry to earn more game time.

THE OPPOSITION

Adrian Lam’s side has been strong so far this season with some of their star men impressing such as Zak Hardaker who has been playing at fullback and looked very dangerous, which creates a conundrum for Lam with Bevan French available for selection in this round of fixtures despite missing their game against Leeds last time out. The Warriors also have forward Liam Byrne back after serving his suspension.

POWELL’S PREVIEW

Daryl Powell spoke to the press ahead of game day and is expecting a physical battle against the Warriors as per usual on their home ground.

“Going away to Wigan, they’ve been going really well and have some key players playing outstandingly well and it’ll be a real challenge for us. Wigan are always physical and that is going to be the first thing that we need to get right. It’s a great opportunity for us to go and prove what we are about this year, I think we have started really well but there is going to be some big challenges ahead and this is obviously one of them.”

WATCH Daryl Powell’s pre-match thoughts in full on Tigers TV

THE SQUADS

Castleford Tigers 21-man squad: 1. Niall Evalds, 2. Derrell Olpherts, 3. Peter Mata’utia, 4. Michael Shenton, 6. Jake Trueman, 7. Danny Richardson, 8. Liam Watts, 9. Paul McShane, 10. Grant Millington, 11. Oliver Holmes, 12. Cheyse Blair, 13. Adam Milner, 14. Nathan Massey, 15. George Griffin, 19. Tyla Hepi, 22. Daniel Smith, 23. Greg Eden, 25. Jordan Turner, 26. Lewis Bienek, 28. Brad Martin, 29. Sam Hall

Wigan Warriors 21-man squad: 1. Bevan French, 3. Zak Hardaker, 7. Thomas Leuluai, 8. Brad Singleton, 9. Sam Powell, 10. Joe Bullock, 11. Willie Isa, 12. Liam Farrell, 13. John Bateman, 14. Ollie Partington, 15. Morgan Smithies, 17. Tony Clubb, 19. Liam Byrne, 20. Harry Smith, 21. Ethan Havard, 22. Jake Bibby, 23. Mitch Clark, 25. Joe Shorrocks, 29. James McDonnell, 30. Umyla Hanley, 31. Jackson Hastings

PLAYER’S VIEW

Cheyse Blair has been pleased with how the Tigers have begun 2021 and is hopeful that the squad can keep that momentum going with a victory over Wigan Warriors on Thursday night, plus he believes there is still better to come from this Castleford side.

“The boys are amped up around training, we came off a really good pre-season and everyone is playing very very quality footy.

“We just know everyone can get always get better, whether it’s 5% or 50%, we just want everyone to be at least 90% to 100% every week. Through the season you know you are going to get niggles or injuries, but we’ve started the season really well and we are on the right track.”

WATCH Cheyse look ahead to the game and discuss playing in the second row on Tigers TV

KEY BATTLES

Should each player play, these are the key battles to keep an eye out for!

Paul McShane vs Sam Powell – two hookers who are at the heart of everything their side does

Niall Evalds vs Zak Hardaker – both have started 2021 strong, and both want the #1 England shirt for the World Cup at the end of the year

Jake Trueman vs Jackson Hastings – halfbacks are often the main attraction in teams, and these two can both try and steal the show on Thursday night

HOW TO WATCH

Season Ticket Holders can watch this game live on Our League with their existing Our League season ticket code.

Further details on how to redeem and watch using your unique Season Ticket code are available here. Please note requests for codes that have not been received need to be sent to ticketing@castigers.com no later than 48 hours prior to a match.

This match in full will be available to watch for Tigers TV subscribers on Monday, highlights of the match will be available for everyone to view too.

LISTEN LIVE

BBC Radio Leeds will have full match commentary online HERE.

GET INVOLVED

Cheer the Tigers on throughout the day on social media using hashtags: #ReadyToRoar and #COYF on social media!