Two of the top sides in Super League lock horns in a thrilling Friday night clash tonight, as high-flying Castleford Tigers take on Huddersfield Giants at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle. After an impressive win at Widnes last time out, the Tigers will be looking to once again cement their position in the top four with a win, but boss Daryl Powell has been forced to make some changes.
The likes of Garreth Carvell, Michael Channing and Luke Dorn all miss out on selection for Powell’s 19-man squad, with Jake Webster, Liam Finn, Scott Wheeldon and Frankie Mariano coming back into contention.
The Giants won the reverse fixture earlier in the season by the slenderest of margins – edging a thriller 29-28 – but they will be forced to do it tonight without two of their key players. Danny Brough is out after still feeling the ill effects of being hit against Salford last week, whilst full-back Scott Grix is also out.
Castleford coach Daryl Powell has made four changes to the team that won at Widnes with Frankie Mariano, Jake Webster, Scott Wheeldon and Liam Finn coming in.
The Squads
Castleford: Sneyd, Dixon, Webster, Shenton, Carney, Ellis, Finn, Lynch, Clark, Huby, Holmes, Mariano, Millington, Jewitt, Wheeldon, Milner, Massey, Gibson, Clare.
Huddersfield: McGillvary, Cudjoe, Wardle, Robinson, Crabtree, Kopczak, Ferres, Bailey, Lawrence, Patrick, Ta’ai, Wood, Broughton, Kaufusi, Mullally, Johnson, Connor, Leeming, Miller.
The Stats
Castleford’s Daryl Clark has scored a try in each of the Tigers’ last three meetings with Huddersfield.
Huddersfield duo Aaron Murphy (1-2-1) and Joe Wardle (1-1-1) have scored tries in the Giants’ last three meetings with Castleford.
Jermaine McGillvary needs four tries to reach a career century of touchdowns. His total of 96 has been scored as follows: 22 for Batley (2008-2009), 8 for Barrow (2010) and 66 for Huddersfield (2010-2014).
The Prediction
Without Danny Brough in their side, Huddersfield will naturally be a much weaker outfit. And with Cas looking to steal a march on one of their top four rivals with a win, expect the home side to once again send their fans home happy.
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