It isn’t just the race for Super League survival that is hotting up at the minute. The push for the playoffs is getting very interesting and Castleford Tigers have the chance to make it even more exciting when they head to France to take on the Catalans Dragons on Saturday afternoon.
Technically the Dragons can still make the playoffs although it is highly unlikely now but a win for the Tigers will send them level on points with the third and fourth placed sides Huddersfield and St Helens and really set up a frantic finale to the season.
Catalans Dragons are very strong at home but due to their poor away record they have lacked consistency over the whole of the season which is why the playoffs look a distant hope for them but they have beaten the likes of St Helens here in recent times so the top four sides don’t concern them.
The French side have Ben Pomeroy back from suspension for this match which will be a boost and he’ll come straight into the side. Todd Carney and Scott Dureau will be charged with setting up the victory for the hosts.
Castleford Tigers kept their playoff hopes alive with a last ditch win over Warrington last week in a match in which they showed plenty of heart, fight, determination and no little amount of quality either.
Daryl Powell has made a couple of changes to his squad with Paul McShane and Scott Wheeldon coming in for Michael Channing and Ryan Boyle. As always Justin Carney and Michael Shenton will be a key pairing for the visitors.
I was hoping to get Catalans on a -4 handicap for this match but sadly the line has moved to -6 which is probably a fairer line so I’m going to leave the match odds and handicap alone and target another market.
Matches in the south of France are often high scoring because the heat and humidity drains the defensive resources and I think this one will be no different. Both these sides love to throw the ball around and get it out wide and trouble the opposition line and both have areas in their defence where they can be exposed.
I was expecting a points line well into the 50s here so I’ll happily take the 48.5 line given that 64pts were scored in the last meeting between the two.
Back Over 48.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
