News

Posted: Wednesday 16th June 2021

Wakefield vs Cas: Match Preview

Castleford Tigers will face Wakefield Trinity in a local derby at The Mobile Rocket Stadium on Wednesday night live on Sky Sports, kick-off 7:45pm!

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Both teams will be looking to recover from defeats last week with Wakefield falling to a 38-18 loss at Warrington, and despite an unforgettable debut for youngster Jason Qareqare, the Tigers suffered a 12-30 defeat to Hull FC. Wednesday night’s clash will be shown LIVE on Sky Sports Arena with coverage starting from 7pm, but before that you can also watch Daryl Powell on The Coaching Manual from 6.30pm too.

DERBY DAY

The Tigers/Trinity derby is always a fiery occasion and the last meeting which was played at The Mend-A-Hose Jungle was no exception.

Wakefield took the lead just seven minutes in as former Cas loose forward Joe Westerman found a gap in the Tigers' defence to score. Ryan Hampshire kicked the conversion and added a penalty after 10 minutes to extend his team's lead to 8-0.

Cas responded in the fantastic fashion courtesy of two quick-fire tries from second-rower Cheyse Blair who touched down Paul McShane's kick and a Danny Richardson floated pass to the wing was gathered by Derrell Olpherts who went over in the corner.

Trinity kept pushing however and regained the lead after a spectacular finish from winger Tom Johnstone. The scoreline then switched in Castleford’s favour as a flowing overlap move allowed James Clare to stroll in for their second try. However, a Hampshire penalty and a 40th-minute drop goal from the boot of Jacob Miller gave Wakefield the lead at the break.

It was a second 40 minutes that were dominated by the Tigers and their first try of the second half was scored by Clare who got his second of the game thanks to a brilliant offload by Michael Shenton.

Oli Holmes extended Cas’ advantage after profiting from a kind bounce as McShane produced another chip towards the line. Olpherts then secured his brace with Cas’ final try of the night as he got on the end of a smart pass by Peter Mata'utia for the Tigers to claim a 14th successive derby win over Wakefield.

Let’s hope for another derby barnstormer on Wednesday!

TIGERS TEAM NEWS

Should Jesse Sene-Lefao take to the field, it would mark his 100th Castleford appearance since joining the club in the 2017 season!

Head Coach Powell makes four changes to the squad that was declared for the last round with Niall Evalds, Daniel Smith, Gareth O’Brien, and Jason Qareqare available for selection, whilst Adam Milner, James Clare, Lewis Bienek, and Brad Graham step out.

It marks the first time Tigers Academy product Qareqare has been named in the 21-man squad, after being called up late last week for his top-flight and senior Castleford debut, which saw him score inside the first minute of the match.

THE OPPOSITION

Trinity currently sits in 10th position in the Betfred Super League standings with six points to their name so far this season.

Chris Chester’s men hit a purple patch from late May to early June as they went on a run of three successive victories over Hull KR, Huddersfield Giants, and Leigh Centurions. The impressive run earned Joe Westerman and Reece Lyne a call-up to Shaun Wane’s England squad.

Warrington Wolves put an end to their three-game winning streak as a Josh Charnley hat-trick inspired Wire to victory at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

POWELL’S PREVIEW

With players returning for Wakefield and some of their men hitting good form, Daryl Powell knows that the derby is going to be a tough task away at Belle Vue.

“They are playing I’ve as well I have seen them, with the ball, there are two sides to the game but with the ball, they are a real threat and they’ve got Joe Westerman playing probably the best rugby he’s ever played…

“They’re close to their best team, Jowitt’s playing well at the back, so it’s a challenge and we’re going to need to play well.”

WATCH Daryl’s full pre-match preview on Tigers TV

THE SQUADS

Wakefield Trinity: 1. Max Jowitt, 2. Tom Johnstone, 3. Bill Tupou, 4. Reece Lyne, 5. Liam Kay, 6. Jacob Miller, 7. Mason Lino, 8. David Fifita, 9. Kyle Wood, 10. Tinirau Arona, 11. Matty Ashurst, 12. Kelepi Tanginoa, 13. Joe Westerman, 14. Jay Pitts, 15. Eddie Battye, 16. James Batchelor, 19. Jordy Crowther, 20. Joe Arundel, 25. Brad Walker, 26. Yusuf Aydin, 27. Lee Kershaw

Castleford Tigers: 1. Niall Evalds, 2. Derrell Olpherts, 3. Peter Mata’utia, 4. Michael Shenton, 7. Danny Richardson, 8. Liam Watts, 9. Paul McShane, 11. Oliver Holmes, 14. Nathan Massey, 15. George Griffin, 17. Alex Foster, 18. Jacques O’Neill, 19. Tyla Hepi, 21. Jesse Sene Lefao, 22. Daniel Smith, 24. Suaia Matagi, 25. Jordan Turner, 27. Lewis Peachey, 28. Brad Martin, 31. Gareth O’Brien, 33. Jason Qareqare

THE RECORDS

It’s a huge record over the local neighbours that Castleford currently holds, the Tigers have won their last fourteen meetings with Wakefield. Trinity's last victory against the Tigers was a narrow away win back in February 2015.

Belle Vue has also been a good ground to visit in recent years for Cas, winning their last six visits, with Trinity's last home victory against the Tigers back coming in September of 2013.

The total Super League between the two derby rivals reads Castleford winning 34 matches, Wakefield 20.

HOW TO WATCH

Wednesday night’s derby game will be available to watch LIVE on Sky Sports Arena with coverage starting at 7pm and kick-off is a 7:45pm.