Love that Tigers feat
Last updated: 11th March 2008
O'Connor: impressed by Tigers
Castleford knew they might catch Leeds cold and they turned up and played with great enthusiasm and the best team won.
Terry O'Connor
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Terry O'Connor hailed Castleford's inner belief after they stunned world champions Leeds at The Jungle.
The Tigers were rock bottom without a point going into Friday night's game, but they broke their duck in spectacular fashion with a 38-20 victory over the Rhinos, in what was arguably the result of the season so far.
And while O'Connor felt Leeds weren't quite on top of their game after their win over Melbourne Storm a week ago, he felt Castelford - and Michael Korkida in particular - stepped up to the plate in excellent fashion.
Speaking on the Boots 'n' All online show, which you can see right here on skysports.com, O'Connor said: "Going into the game, everyone was saying how Leeds weren't going to be focused playing against the bottom side.
"But Castleford needed that belief inside them to get that first win and playing against the newly crowned world club champions, it was always going to be a tough game.
"They stood up to the task and I thought they were fantastic.
"I've been saying for the last couple of weeks that Michael Korkidas needs to stand up and he took on the big Leeds pack."
Talent
Jamie Peacock was rested by Leeds and while O'Connor feels he is a huge influence on the Rhinos side, he said they still boasted enough talent to be able to win the game.
He continued: "They had Clinton Toopi and Danny McGuire missing as well, but Jamie Peacock is usually the man that puts his arm up and makes that big yard behind the back of the ruck and gets them on the front foot.
"But they still had enough talent to win the game. I thought Matt Diskin has been absolutely sensational this year in the way he was coming up with big shots.
"I know he got penalised for a couple of them, but he wass trying to lift his team and he's trying to do the job that Jamie Jones and Jamie Peacock do in the pack.
"They never gave up but they were just beaten by a more enthusiastic Castleford side."
O'Connor suggested Leeds suffered something of a comedown following their world club championship triumph, but insisted Castleford deserved all the plaudits their win.
He added: "Maybe they took their foot off the gas, but they've had a really good build-up. They won all their four games leading up to the World Club Challenge, they were playing with a lot of confidence, they were crowned world champions the week before and they probably deserve a week off.
"Kevin Sinfield came out and said since the Grand Final last year, they were looking forward to the World Club Challenge game, so the focus has been on that and to be focused for that amount of time is tough.
"Castleford knew they might catch Leeds cold and they turned up and played with great enthusiasm and the best team won."
To see more from Terry O'Connor, plus highlights of all of the weekend's matches, watch the Boots 'n' All online show. Just click on the video player in the top right of your screen.
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