Castleford Tigers boss Daryl Powell has backed James Clare to stand in for the suspended Justin Carney this weekend, as the club gear up for their semi-final date against Widnes Vikings.
Clare is the most likely candidate to replace Carney, who was banned for two matches earlier this week after a dangerous throw against London Broncos. And although Powell admits the Australian will be missed, this is the situation where his big squad can come into play effectively.
“James is the likely option to come in. He’s been outstanding when he’s played this year,” Powell said.
“Sticks has come in and done a good job on the wing and at full-back. A couple of weeks back he scored a couple of tries at the end against Hull and took them exceptionally well.
“We’ll miss Justin, Weller and Grant, but we’ve got a biggish squad for a reason, whether it be injuries or difficult situations like we’ve got at the moment . “We’ve made a lot this year about the ethic of the squad and everybody being able to slot in and do a high quality job.
“We’ve got good players in every position who can come in. That’s why we built the squad and hopefully we’ll be able to make the best use of it.”
