IT’S all to play for in Super League this weekend, with huge games to determine the destination of the League Leaders’ Shield plus the likely make-up of the play-offs.
But the round begins with none of that at stake – instead it starts at Bartercard Odsal, and it’s only pride on the line.
That’s because this hasn’t been a happy season for Bradford Bulls or Castleford Tigers.
The former, despite being bottom of the table, will probably be the more heartened, having proven a few doubters wrong on their return to the top division before a miserable injury crisis struck.
Castleford, meanwhile, are four points and four places better off, but a terribly inconsistent campaign has resulted in another change of coach and once again put the club back to square one.
Both will see, in their final two fixtures, a chance to finish on a high. Bradford go to York Knights last, and Castleford are at Huddersfield Giants.
Then again, they each had bottom-half opposition in front of them last week as well. The Bulls were beaten 28-18 at Toulouse Olympique, and Castleford 34-6 at home to Catalans Dragons.
They can’t both lose again, so who will earn a late-season boost?
‘Elephant in the room’
While Bradford have truly done it tough on the squad front, this week they have three big boosts to their pack in the shape of Loghan Lewis (after a ban), Dan Russell and Phoenix Steinwede.
That’s great news for coach Kurt Haggerty, who likely needs to win this game as well as overcoming fellow promoted side York in order for the Bulls to avoid the wooden spoon.
“You may get some coaches who say they’ve not spoken about (finishing bottom) or addressed it. We’ve spoken about it,” said Haggerty.
“It has been the elephant in the room, but we addressed it in our team meeting. We certainly don’t want that tag.
“We’re going to have to make some sacrifices in this game to make sure we put our best foot forward to win it, then carry that over to York.”
‘Always something to play for’
Castleford are waiting until the day of the game to decide if star centre Krystian Mapapalangi can return from injury, after the blow of having Keanan Brand recalled by Leigh Leopards.
They could, if only with a very slim chance, finish as high as eighth or as low as last, but for assistant coach Luke Robinson that’s not all at stake.
“Whether you’re playing for Lock Lane or Castleford Tigers, there’s individual pride that every player should have,” he said.
“You want to play for yourself, your teammates, your family, the badge, the fans – I think there’s always something to play.
“We need to have that mentality going into these last two games. We need to finish as high up the league table as we can, but also have a building block for next year, and give the fans something to sing about.”