The Super League week begins on a Wednesday this week to avoid TV coverage on Friday night clashing with the big football match at Wembley, and it does so with a Yorkshire derby between Wakefield Trinity and Castleford Tigers at Belle Vue.
Both teams sit outside the play-off zone heading into this match so they need to launch a run of form and getting the better of the local rivals will be a perfect way to get that up and running so we should be in for a competitive contest here.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Arena channel with the build-up to the contest beginning at 7pm and the match itself kicking off at 7.45pm.
Wakefield Trinity
It was a terrible beginning to the season for the Wakefield Trinity outfit. They lost their opening six matches and while they weren’t getting blown away the end result was still a loss. They deserve a lot of credit for not panicking and hitting the reset button but reflecting on the fact that injuries were hurting them a little. Players then started to come back and they went on a three match winning burst prior to their defeat to the Warrington Wolves last week.
They probably got the Wolves at the wrong time in that match but the three wins have given them some comfort in the battle to avoid the drop and they can begin to look up rather than down. They have shown throughout the last few seasons that they are a tough nut for anyone to crack on their home pitch and fans being back in helps that even more. You worry about them defensively but Wakefield pack a punch going forward as Huddersfield Giants found out when Wakefield put 38 points on them recently.
Castleford Tigers
The Castleford Tigers began the season extremely promisingly but in terms of their Super League campaign they have faded quite fast. They have lost their last four matches and they have done it by the cumulative score of 154-54 so basically they haven’t really been competitive, however mixed into the middle of those defeats was the victory in the Challenge Cup semi-final which reminded us just what a good side they can be.
Injuries haven’t been kind to Castleford but even so they will be determined not to have their campaign revolving purely around the Challenge Cup final next month. Anything can happen in that and they don’t want to come away from that disappointed and have nothing left to play for in Daryl Powell’s final season in charge. There still isn’t too many issues with the Tigers attack but defensively they have been a mess for too long.
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Team News
Wakefield Trinity have star winger Tom Johnstone back for this match after he has overcome the concussion issues that have plagued him recently. Matty Ashurst and Jordan Crowther are also available for selection for Chris Chester.
Daryl Powell welcomes some big players back for this match with Niall Evalds and Gareth O’Brien likely to be particularly significant returnees. Daniel Smith also returns but there is no Adam Milner or James Clare.
Betting
Wakefield Trinity are the odds on favourites to win this match but they have to overcome one of the worst head to head records in Super League if they are to justify that tag. They have lost the last 15 matches against the Castleford Tigers in this competition so I can’t possibly side with an odds on shot in that situation. The form of the Tigers isn’t exactly inspiring a bet on them either so I’ll take on one of the side markets for a punt on this game.
I referenced above just how many points the Castleford Tigers are shipping at present. Their last four Super League matches they average 38.5pts a game against them. Some of that will be bettered by the return of Niall Evalds and his presence will give their attack a little more pep. Wakefield aren’t what you would call watertight defensively either though so in good conditions for rugby league I expect the ball to be moved around that defences to tire so over 46.5 points looks good to me in this one.
Tips
Back Over 46.5pts for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
