News

Posted: Friday 4th June 2021

Cas vs Wire: Cup semi-final preview

Castleford Tigers are only 80 minutes away from Wembley with Warrington Wolves the opposition on Saturday in the Betfred Challenge Cup semi-final, live on BBC Two at 5pm.

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Saturday’s match will be played at Leigh Sports Village, and it will be the second time the two sides have come up against each other in the last two weeks.

If you are attending the match, fans can bring in food and drink as the concessions will not be open in the stadium. However, alcohol is not permitted.

Turnstile entry points are listed on each match ticket and Castleford supporters are in the North Stand. Turnstiles open at 10.15am and Tigers fans can attend all three matches or just their own.

For some pre-match food and drink, supporters can visit The Britannia Inn and The Centurion pubs which are a five-minute walk from the stadium and are open to all fans.

TIGERS SEEKING REVENGE

The last meeting between the Tigers and the Wolves finished in a 38-14 victory for Wire at the The Halliwell Jones Stadium in May.

Cas got off to a rapid start when Paul McShane made a darting run for the line before releasing Jake Trueman to go over in the third minute.

However, Wire responded with two quick fire tries from Josh Charnley and Toby King within the first 15 minutes of the game.

Jordan Turner scored to get Castleford back in the match, although a Gareth Widdop hat-trick saw the hosts then push clear on the scoreboard.

Turner claimed his brace just before the hooter but unfortunately Castleford came away from the game with a defeat.

With a spot in the final at stake on Saturday, Daryl Powell’s men will be incredibly motivated to get revenge and secure their place at Wembley.

CAS’ JOURNEY TO THE SEMI-FINAL

Castleford’s path to get to this stage of the competition has not been plain sailing as it has been a story of two Golden Point victories.

First up was Hull KR in the third round where they found themselves 32 points to 18 down as the game was edging ever close to its conclusion.

The fixture was an enthralling encounter at Craven Park with a total of 12 tries being scored, however, it was Jordan Turner’s effort after the final hooter that was the most telling. The 32-year-old, off a bit of Paul McShane magic, levelled the tie and it was Gareth O’Brien who slotted the ball between the posts to win it in the 99th minute after FOUR periods of extra time.

Next it was the Quarter-final at Headingley and it was Salford Red Devils who were the opposition, and once again it was a nail-biting affair.

Salford started on the front foot with Harvey Livett pouncing on the ball on the line as a high kick caused confusion in the Cas ranks.

Daniel Smith barged over to tie the game, but Livett was causing problems again and scored 10 minutes later to put Salford back ahead.

The Tigers came roaring back however after quick hands from Grant Millington and Liam Watts, it was centre Peter Mata’utia who slid in just before half-time.

Another piece of McShane magic opened up the field in a second half that saw opportunities hard to come by. The hooker darted through and passed the ball to Michael Shenton who was in space on the left to race over.

As the 80 minutes drew closer Cas had to withstand huge amounts of Salford pressure and the Red Devils made the breakthrough with just a few seconds left on the clock. Skipper Lee Mossop looked to have been held up on the line, but the prop managed to get the ball over his head and place it down to take the game to extra time.

After a McShane drop goal charge down, the Tigers set up in front of the Salford posts and it was O’Brien who was the Golden Point hero again.

If Cas’ recent Cup games are anything to go by, it should be a cracker on Saturday!

TIGERS TEAM NEWS

Powell has made four changes to the squad he declared for last week’s match against Leeds Rhinos with Danny Richardson, George Griffin, Greg Eden, and Lewis Peachey making way for Niall Evalds, Adam Milner, Alex Foster, and Gareth O’Brien. It marks the first time in the 2021 season that Foster has been named in a 21-man squad for Castleford after suffering an injury in the Club’s sole pre-season friendly.

THE OPPOSITION

Warrington currently sit in fourth place in the Super League table with five wins, two loses and one draw to their name and reached the Cup semi-finals after defeating Catalans Dragons 6-16.

Steve Price’s men come into the Cas game with their confidence high after thrashing Salford Red Devils 18-62 at the AJ Bell Stadium.

Ellis Longstaff and Connor Wrench are both back in Wire’s squad after they were recalled from loan spells with Newcastle Thunder. Jason Clark drops out with a calf strain.

POWELL’S PREVIEW

In his pre-match press conference, Daryl Powell emphasised the need for his team to hit the levels required to get the job done.

“This is the biggest game we have faced in a while. We need to get our performance right and our attitude needs to be great. It all needs to be right where it can be. It hasn’t been that way for a couple of weeks, but it is a great opportunity to get things right this week against a team that is going pretty well. We know what we can do as a team, we just need to make sure we are where we need to be.”

WATCH Daryl’s full press conference preview ahead of the semi-final on Tigers TV

THE SQUADS

Castleford Tigers: 1. Niall Evalds, 2. Derrell Olpherts, 3. Peter Mata’utia, 4. Michael Shenton, 6. Jake Trueman, 8. Liam Watts, 9. Paul McShane, 11. Oliver Holmes, 12. Cheyse Blair, 13. Adam Milner, 14. Nathan Massey, 17. Alex Foster, 18. Jacques O’Neill, 19. Tyla Hepi, 20. James Clare, 21. Jesse Sene-Lefao, 22. Daniel Smith, 24. Suaia Matagi, 25. Jordan Turner, 28. Brad Martin, 31. Gareth O’Brien

Warrington Wolves: 1. Stefan Ratchford, 2. Tom Lineham, 4. Toby King, 5. Josh Charnley, 6. Blake Austin, 7. Gareth Widdop, 8. Chris Hill, 9. Daryl Clark, 10. Mike Cooper, 11. Ben Currie, 12. Jack Hughes, 13. Joe Philbin, 15. Matt Davis, 16. Danny Walker, 18. Jake Mamo, 19. Rob Mulhern, 20. Sitaleki Akauola, 21. Rob Butler, 23. Josh Thewlis, 26. Ellis Longstaff, 27. Connor Wrench

PLAYER’S VIEW

Cas captain Michael Shenton, who reached the Challenge Cup final with the Tigers in 2014, claimed that he and the rest of the team are motivated to reach Wembley.

“We’ve been together a long time a lot of us in the team and we’ve spoken about this year having a real good crack at the Challenge Cup. Everyone is really excited about it. I think there is some real belief going into the game. We’re aiming for a strong team out there, in a neutral venue, with an aim of getting the job done for Cas.”

HOW TO WATCH

Saturday’s game will be shown live on BBC Two, kick-off is at 5:00pm.

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 for free.