Castleford coach Daryl Powell claims the Tigers will have no emotional connection with former star Rangi Chase, who lines up against them for his new side Salford Red Devils later today.
The 48-year-old, who is aiming to extend his side’s unbeaten start to the season, said: “Apart from having to deal with his ability as a player, emotionally we’re not getting too attached with that kind of stuff.
“We need to go and play our own game and, if there’s some pressure to be applied to Rangi when we’ve got the ball, then we’ll do that. Obviously he’s a smart player and we know all about him – we’ve seen enough of him in practice to know what sort of things he can throw at you.”
Chase swapped the Jungle for Hell last summer in a lucrative deal, while Marc Sneyd went the opposite way on loan. Although he respects Chase’s ability, Powell believes his side are better off with their current half-back partnership, and the Super League table shows that.
“We struggled to get the balance last year,” Powell said.
“We played with one half when Rangi was here and now we’re playing with two that have a real good balance. I don’t think we’ve got the better or worse part of deal, we’ve been able to get more depth in our squad as a result of Rangi going to Salford and I think the people who have come in have done a great job.”
