The last Super League match before the Challenge Cup semi-finals takes place on Thursday evening when two sides who were hoping for a place in the top four and be a part of the race to Old Trafford but who have seen those hopes pretty much die meet at The Jungle when the Castleford Tigers host Hull FC.
This is fast becoming a season to forget for both teams but in this game there is always something to build for even if it is next season so picking up a win here and finishing the season strongly could yet yield dividends for whoever gets it down the line.
The Format
There has been a change in the format of the season. The ‘loop matches’ and Magic Weekend have bitten the dust so teams will play 20 regular season matches ahead of the playoffs. Scrums are a thing of the past for the remainder of the season. They are being replaced with a tap restart to prevent the spread of the virus. The ‘six to go’ rule that is being used in NRL is also coming into the Super League with more eyes likely to be on the game with other sports yet to get back up and running. It has since been announced that the Super League table will be based on point percentage rather than total points.
Where to watch
The match will be shown in full on the Sky Sports Arena channel with the build up to the game beginning at 7.30pm UK time and the match itself kicking off 15 minutes later.
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Castleford Tigers
It has been a pretty wretched return to action for the Castleford Tigers. In all competitions since lockdown they have won just one of their seven matches and in four of those games they have leaked 30 points or more and they conceded 29 in another. Injuries have certainly not helped the Tigers this term but they are not the only team in that boat. They need to find a way to deal with that and attempt to defend their try line a little better.
Daryl Powell cut a pretty disconsolate figure after the Tigers’ last match a week ago when they went down to the Huddersfield Giants, a match that has been synonymous with their form since the restart where they were very competitive for 40 minutes but then faded the longer the match went on and by the end were running on fumes. The Tigers will hope that having a few players will help their cause here but they only return for established players.
Hull FC
The season never really got started for Hull FC and it still hasn’t got much better. Their form before lockdown was ordinary, as evidenced by them relieving Lee Radford of his duties the week before the sport was forced to stop. Since lockdown they have had a stop start time of it with many Covid-19 issues and at no stage have they been able to put consistent performances together which might bring about something resembling a positive run of form.
Hull have offered up more in terms of wins than their opponents here. In all competitions they have won three of their seven matches and they were very competitive against Salford Red Devils last time out even in defeat. You get the impression that Hull FC are in better shape than their opponents here but that won’t count for a while lot unless they can transform that into a result, one which might well give them the momentum to finish the season strongly.
Team News
Castleford Tigers will be pleased to welcome back Jake Trueman, Junior Moors and Adam Milner as they make six changes to their squad for this match. They come in for Danny Richardson, Jesse Sene-Lafao and Liam Watts so it is mostly like for like as Daryl Powell looks to keep his charges fresh.
Hull FC have also rotated members of their squad with Danny Houghton among four players who have been rested. Scott Taylor could be involved for the first time since the restart after he was named in the 21-man squad for this one.
Betting
It is hard not to like the Hull FC side here. Unless a return to their home ground sparks a performance out of the Castleford Tigers then you would expect this one to go with the recent form and that has been much stronger for the Black and Whites than it has for the Tigers. That form for Hull FC includes a Challenge Cup win over this opponent less than three weeks ago and that might be as good a sign as any that Hull FC are the ones to be on here.
Castleford are clearly licking their wounds with regards to the injuries that they have at the minute and they have been finding it very hard to finish matches strongly. Hull FC haven’t had that problem, they’ve just not been good enough when they’ve been beaten. This time though they have one or two things in their favour and at 6/4 I’ll take those boosts to translate themselves into a win for the visitors here.
Tips
WON – Back Hull FC to beat Castleford Tigers for a 3/10 stake at 2.50 with Bet365
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