5. Castleford Tigers
A lot of Castleford’s season will come down to the halfback partnership of Jake Trueman and Danny Richardson and how well they click. They are both relatively inexperienced players in crucial positions, so it is certainly a gamble from Daryl Powell, but an exciting one. Richardson will be hungry to prove a point after being effectively told he wasn’t good enough at the Saints, and Trueman will be keen to kick on following an encouraging 2019.
I do feel that Cas peaked in 2017 and went slightly and steadily downhill in 2018 and 2019. Looking at their squad, if they have better luck with injuries than last season, they should scrape into the top five.
The pack is formidable: Liam Watts was phenomenal last season and the fact he was somehow overlooked again on the international stage will keep him motivated. Grant Millington, while ageing, still has plenty to offer and the back row of Jesse Sene-Lefao, Mike McMeeken and Adam Milner has plenty of power, aggression and experience.
Last season Castleford certainly weren’t at their fluent, free-flowing best, which obviously wasn’t helped by the loss of halfback Luke Gale, but looked like quite a dogged defensive unit. If the Tigers can emulate that, the Jungle will still be a very hard place to win.
Key Player – Paul McShane. Accurate distribution, durable defender and has plenty of guile around the ruck. Not a superstar but Cas are a much better team when he is on the pitch.
