Live on
Castleford vs Hull
Super League
7:45pm Thursday 5th September
The Mend-A-Hose Jungle
Super League play-off hopefuls when they meet in the Mend-a-Hose Jungle on Thursday, live on Sky Sports, Castleford and Hull will put their year.
Victory for the fifth-placed Black and Whites, who are two points over their hosts, would clinch a play-off place with a match to spare and effectively end the Tigers’ campaign.
But a win for Daryl Powell’s guys would enable them to leapfrog their competitors to the upper five courtesy of some superior points difference and set a round up.
“It is massive for both groups,” said Castleford’s former Hull full-back Jordan Rankin. “There’s no hiding from that.
“I think this season in general has been more exciting than it has been over the last few decades.
“With the shift of the arrangement, you’re now viewing with an exciting battle at the base of the table along with a thrilling battle between these third, fourth, fourth and sixth positions also.
“it is a lot closer than it’s been. In case you lose you could find yourself in 22, you can be sitting in the top five and by the weekend.
“It’s an exciting new for baseball champions to be a part of and that I think that it’s only going to get better from here.”
Hull have stumbled in the time of the season, winning just one of the last four matches, but they have an record, which contains a 31-18 victory.
Along with Lee Radford’s side seem set to be boosted by the return from injury of stand-off Albert Kelly, who watched a hat-trick of attempts in that triumph over the Tigers three months past.
“I know Albi quite well and I would imagine he will play since he gets up for the huge games,” said Rankin. “They clearly need him to perform so we will prepare like he is playing.
“They’re a dangerous group, and they’ve always been a dangerous group. They’ve got some players that could really do any damage to you in the event you let them.”
One of these is set to become victims of their late thirties out of Salford and Wigan although for much of the year, both teams seemed certain to finish in the top five.
Castleford have maintained themselves at the mix and trainer Powell is convinced they can still make an impact in the business end of this season.
“It is almost like a one-piece match,” he said. “If you’re going to win anything, then you have got to win those knockout games.
“When we could, it is going to go down to the last weekend and that’s what it is all about, who is going to hold their guts and come up with their best performances as it actually matters.
“If we handle it, then it will be an incredible hard work and then you’re a couple of games off of doing something special.
“We feel we are capable of doing this however, it boils down to a game. We’ve got to do that one right, otherwise you will be completing early and we haven’t done that for a little while.”
Castleford Tigers 19-man group: Cheyse Blair, James Clare, Matt Cook, Jamie Ellis, Oliver Holmes, Will Maher, Nathan Massey, Peter Mata’utia, Mike McMeeken, Paul McShane, Grant Millington, Adam Milner, Greg Minikin,Jordan Rankin, Jesse Sene-Lefao, Daniel Smith, Jake Trueman, Calum Turner, Liam Watts
Hull FC 19-man team: Jamie Shaul, Bureta Faraimo, Carlos Tuimavave, Josh Griffin, Albert Kelly, Marc Sneyd, Scott Taylor, Danny Houghton, Josh Bowden, Mark Minichiello, Jake Connor, Masi Matongo, Brad Fash, Sika Manu, Mickey Paea, Jack Logan, Gareth Ellis, Ratu Naulago, Tevita Satae
Read more: juliuszoaly.thezenweb.com