The opening day of the Super League XXVIII Magic Weekend concludes with a Yorkshire derby when the Leeds Rhinos go in search of two points when they go up against Castleford Tigers to close the show at St James’ Park.
When the schedule for the Magic Weekend came out there were claims that this might be the most competitive game of the opening day but the two teams are enjoying very different seasons so it will be interesting to see if that will actually be the case.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Arena channels with the build-up beginning at 5.45pm and kick off coming at 6pm.
Leeds Rhinos
There is a kind of mirage between this season for the Leeds Rhinos and the previous one in that they haven’t really got going as we reach the halfway mark but we saw last term that they are more than capable of turning things around. They head to the Magic Weekend with just one win in their last five matches but to be fair to them they ran Wigan close in the Challenge Cup and then took St Helens to extra time last week when bodies were falling like flies.
Those injuries were an issue last season and it looks like they might have reared their ugly head again so the Rhinos are going to need their star men who are available to come up with the goods and lead the younger parts of their unit around the field. Leeds have shown that they can mix it in attack but you just wonder if the troops which they are short of will be their undoing defensively, if not here but certainly as we move forward.
Castleford Tigers
There is no getting away from the fact that this has been a wretched season for the Castleford Tigers and if they are not careful they could easily get drawn into a relegation scrap which is the last thing they need. In truth, the Tigers don’t look strong enough for the level on paper but they should be doing a lot better than just two wins on the campaign. Already they look like they are just playing to stay above Wakefield Trinity and remain in the division.
Castleford will at least head up to Newcastle knowing that one of the two wins they have picked up this season have come against the Leeds Rhinos. That was at The Jungle though and conditions and the environment here could scarcely be any different. Castleford fans will hope that the occasion and the stage will allow their better rugby to come out because if they carry on like they have been this could be a long afternoon.
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Team News
Aidan Sezer, Harry Newman and Morgan Gannon all failed to complete the match against St Helens last week and they are missing here as a result. Blake Austin therefore makes a timely return to fitness while James McDonnell and James Bentley return.
Castleford Tigers coach Andy Last has made just the one change to his squad for this one with Jason Qareqare coming into the squad. There is still no Greg Eden or Niall Evalds so Jack Broadbent is expected to continue at full-back.
Betting
If we were basing this match on the season so far then it would be hard to make a case for the Castleford Tigers but there is no getting away from the fact that Leeds Rhinos were involved in a brutal battle with St Helens last week and they have come away from that the worse for wear. They are going to be missing three key men and that might just level up the gulf in class between the two sides and give the lower ranked team a chance of at least being competitive here.
The big problem for the Tigers is their attack but on this big pitch and two really good half-backs on show in Jacob Miller and Gareth Widdop they really should have the stage to shine on. In the main, Castleford haven’t been that bad defensively. They have only conceded more than 22 points in two of their last seven Super League matches and with Leeds clunky in attack and perhaps not as strong in defence as they might otherwise be I fancy Castleford can remain within 8.5 points of the Rhinos here.
Tips
Back Castleford Tigers (+8.5) to beat Leeds Rhinos for a 3/10 stake at 1.80 with Bet365
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