Thursday 6 July 2017 11:27, UK
Leeds' Rob Burrow says if Wakefield want to beat Castleford on Thursday they will need to get on top of the Tigers' pack.
Both sides are in the top four in terms of tries scored this season, but despite the wealth of strike power out wide, Burrow believes it will be the forwards who determine Thursday's outcome.
The Rhinos star, who is Sky's studio guest for the broadcast, said the work of the Trinity pack is important if the hosts are to strangle the influence of Castleford's halves on the game.
"Both packs are very physical, and like with any game really the team with the dominant pack tends to be on the front foot," said Burrow.
"Castleford have been really good at that - their halves have been superb this year on the back of their forwards setting the foundation.
"I imagine an area where Wakefield will try to dominate is the pack. If they can stop the Tigers' go-forward then it slows down [Luke] Gale and [Ben] Roberts a little bit.
"So far we've all tried and none of us have been able to do that, but I certainly think the key area is to dominate the Castleford pack if Wakefield want to limit what Gale and Roberts can do."
Burrow picked out two props as the most important to each club's cause.
"I think Grant Millington has been outstanding since he came over to Super League. He's a forward who really rolls his sleeves up and gets involved. He's at the heart of most of the plays with Castleford.
"If it's a forward putting on some sort a play, it's generally Millington who is doing it - he's pretty much like a half-back if I'm honest."
The 34-year-old says the result at Beaumont Legal Stadium is tough to call, saying that the Tigers are deserving of their spot at the top of the table, but that Trinity will still make them work for a win.
"I think this will be a good derby and really close," he said. "Castleford have been the standout team from week one so I am expecting a Tigers win, but I'm also expecting a closely-fought contest with it being on Wakefield's home ground.
"It's a competitive season; Castleford have been in many ways the best team and they are front-runners for the league leaders' shield now, but Wakefield have been great and are a real threat under Chris Chester.
"We have played all the teams this year now, and both games against Wakefield have been very hard-fought - we had to really dig deep to get the wins.
"We know how good Wakefield can be on the day, and they'll see this as a big derby game, and they will need to play really well to beat the top team, Castleford."
Burrow is expecting an entertaining game between the two teams on Thursday night.
"Both teams like to throw the ball about. Castleford are the standout team when it comes to trick plays and set moves, but Wakefield have got theirs as well.
"Often we talk about how, if teams are good at something in attack, they may be liable to be suspect to it in defence, so I'm sure Wakefield will want to pass the ball out and put Castleford's edge under threat as well.
"I think it depends on the weather, but hopefully it stays dry and we can see what both sides are capable of."
A win for Castleford could help the Rhinos stay in the top four regardless of their result against Salford on Sunday, but Burrow says Leeds won't be losing any sleep on a win for either side.
"The games we've lost, the teams around us have lost too so it's been good to us in that sense, but we aren't focussing on what other results are happening, we are just focussing on what we can do.
"Every team has stuff to play for, and try to finish where they want to finish.
"For Castleford this game is a chance to cement their place at the top of the league, for Wakefield it's a chance to break into the top four."
