Thursday 5 October 2017 10:36, UK
Castleford captain Michael Shenton is confident his table-topping Tigers can deliver on the big stage.
Shenton and his team-mates have lost just six of their 33 matches this year and won the League Leaders' Shield - for the first time in the club's 91-year history - at a canter.
They will have the chance to make more history when they take on Leeds in their maiden Grand Final on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Arena from 5pm, and Shenton insists they are ready.
"We're in a great place," said Shenton, who is one of only two Castleford players with Grand Final experience.
"We know this is the last week of the season and, after all the hard work we've done, it has built to the big one.
"Everything has got to come together, we've got to put in a big-game performance for the biggest game of all."
Our guys are ready, there's plenty of momentum behind us.
Castleford's domination of the season was reflected at the Man of Steel awards night in Manchester, where they virtually swept the board, but Shenton accepts it has not been a perfect year.
Daryl Powell's men lost in the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup and needed a drop goal from Luke Gale in extra time to get past St Helens in last Thursday's semi-final, matches that Shenton believes will help them realise their dream at Old Trafford.
"There's plenty of lessons we've had to learn through the year," he said. "There's been some games where we've faced adversity and come out on top.
"Thursday was draining. We weren't great against St Helens but, if we had cut some of the errors and penalties, it would have been a bit more of a dominant game from us and they're the kind of lessons we've got to learn.
"The team has got confidence because we believe in each other. Our guys are ready, there's plenty of momentum behind us.
"We know it's a massive challenge but we're just excited to be part of it."
Despite their obvious confidence, Shenton is taking little heed of his side's proud record against the Rhinos, whom they have beaten in their last eight meetings.
"We need to put them to bed a little bit," he said. "They don't count for too much in a game like this.
"We've played each other four times so we know what each other does really well."
