Castleford Tigers aim to continue form against St Helens

Castleford will be out to claim another notable scalp and continue their resurgence when Super League champions St Helens enter the Jungle on Thursday night.

A week after knocking Leeds Rhinos off the top of the table, the fifth-placed Tigers have the chance to repeat the feat against Keiron Cunningham's men, whose 30-14 victory over Wigan Warriors saw them take pole position.

A 21-14 win over Castleford in February was Saints' 15th in a row against the Tigers, whose losing run goes back to 2008. However, after causing an upset at Headingley for the first time for five years, Tigers’ head coach Daryl Powell believes his in-form side are in the mood to deliver another famous victory.

He said: "We look a pretty good side at the moment. I still don't think we're at our best. I think there's a lot to come from us and hopefully that will show on Thursday night.

"Obviously this is a significant challenge, as last week was. Both teams are on the back of big wins so it should be a great game. I can't remember the last time we beat St Helens but it was a while since we beat Leeds at Headingley.

"None of that really matters. It's about what happens now. We just need to perform well. We've a lot of players who are playing close to the top of their game now and we've got a little bit of consistency having won our last three matches."

Castleford will be able to call upon the services of Australian winger Justin Carney, their leading try-scorer, who returns after nine weeks on the sidelines with an elbow injury.

Headaches

Saints, too, have received a boost with the return of influential scrum-half Luke Walsh, while highly-promising second rower Joe Greenwood will be hoping to pick up from where he left off when he makes a welcome return from a two-month injury lay-off.

"There are definitely going to be some (selection) headaches but good headaches I have been waiting for," said Cunningham, who is not getting carried away by his team's lofty position in the table.

"We are in a good spot at this time of the year but the thing with rugby is it can turn ugly pretty quickly," Cunningham said.

"We have just got to ride our fortune when we can and try to pick up points along the way. We have been quite good in the last few weeks and we have picked up some very important points.

"But the thing about rugby league is you have a game the week after and you can't rest on your laurels. Our victory against Wigan is short-lived. That was put to bed at the weekend and we are concentrating on Cas. It is a short turnaround. We don't get many hours on the field."

St Helens scored 16 points in the last 13 minutes to win 30-28 in the corresponding fixture in 2014 and Cunningham is expecting another close tussle on Thursday night.

"They are playing really well," Cunningham said. "I don't think they have played at home for a long period of time but they have won some big games away from home.

"We know we have got to be very good when we go there. We both played big games last week and I think it's whoever gets off the best start.

"I've watched their last four games. They are a team definitely in form and definitely on the rise. I think a lot of people wrote Cas off at the start of the year after they lost a lot of players but Daryl is too smart a coach to let them go backwards.

"He integrated a lot of people. I spoke to Daryl at the start of the year and I think he was a bit frustrated that didn't happen a bit quicker but I think he has got his balance right now.

"Benny Roberts at full-back has been a revelation for them. Great coaches get the best of out players and Daryl is a great coach."

Watch Castleford Tigers v St Helens live on Sky Sports 1 on Thursday from 7.30pm. Get a NOW TV pass from only £6.99