Daryl Powell insists there is still plenty more improvement left in his side, despite a strong start to 2020, after a half-time warm-up laid the platform for victory over Wakefield Trinity on Friday night.
The Tigers continued their dominance over their local rivals – they have not lost to Trinity since the opening weekend of the 2015 season – after a 32-15 win ensured a third victory in fourth games for the Tigers to start the new season.
And Powell warned the rest of the competition that with key players set to return from injury imminently, coupled with the challenges they have faced in the opening month, there is much more to come from Castleford.
He said: “We played Toronto, then had a five-day turnaround and beat Wigan and then we had to go to Catalans. Logistically it’s been quite challenging.
“I just think there’s a whole heap of improvement in us and we’re in a good place. There’s been some challenges, but it’s been a good start.”
Powell expects Adam Milner to be available for selection this weekend, while Jesse Sene-Lefao should also be available. Alex Foster and Sosaia Feki are also nearing their first appearances of the season too.
Powell sent his side out for the second half early on Friday night, and he said: “We decided to do a bit of a re-warm. The Sky games, they’re 15 minutes at half-time and that’s a lot of time to be sat down not doing anything. We decided we’d get out and do some movement and that kicked our second half off. We came out of the blocks pretty quickly.”
Powell also paid tribute to Oliver Holmes after marking his 200th appearance with a try.
“He’s a really popular member of the squad and the team,” he said.
“Everyone is really pleased for him, to play 200 games. He looks a bit older than he is, but he’s such a good character and I’m pleased he’s been able to do that at such a young age.”
