Watch Castleford Tigers vs Wakefield Trinity live on Sky Sports Arena on Friday from 7pm
Friday 21 February 2020 19:28, UK
Castleford face Wakefield in front of the Sky Sports cameras on Friday night, while Hull KR play unbeaten Huddersfield and Warrington take on winless Toronto...
Buoyed by last weekend's win over Warrington, Wakefield head to the Mend-A-Hose Jungle hoping they can halt their long run of derby disappointments.
Trinity have lost their last 13 matches against Castleford, a miserable run that began back in 2015, and the manner of last season's defeats would have been particularly galling for Wakefield fans.
Wakefield came close to overturning a 22-point deficit on their last visit to the Jungle in April 2019, only to fall narrowly short, but there was clear daylight between the teams three months later as Cas cruised to a 36-16 win away to their rivals.
"We have not got anything from Castleford for the last few years," said Wakefield coach Chris Chester, speaking to the Yorkshire Post.
"It is a really important game for both teams. I think we showed against Warrington we are a hard team to beat when we control the ball, defend tough and work hard for each other.
"Those are the three things that win you the derby games."
Chester has included Ryan Atkins and George King in his 21-man squad but is unlikely to deviate from the side that beat Warrington.
Castleford, meanwhile, have centre Peter Mata'utia back from a two-match ban while second rower Jesse Sene-Lefao is also included after missing the start of the season through injury.
Cas opened the season with impressive wins over Toronto and Wigan but fell to a 36-18 loss at Catalans last weekend.
Tigers coach Daryl Powell believes that defeat, coupled with Wakefield's win over Warrington, means Trinity head into Friday's derby as favourites.
"We were so poor last week in pretty much every department and we've got a lot of work to do in our training sessions, but it's more between the ears I think we need to get it right," said Powell.
"I thought we were off from the start last week and we want to put that right on Friday."
Rovers will be seeking home comforts after two tough defeats on the roads over the past fortnight.
Tony Smith's were superb for an hour of the Hull derby, only to fade in the final 20 minutes, but there were few positives to take from last weekend's 32-point hiding at Headingley.
"It's not nice but at the same time it gives you a kick up the backside and makes you even more determined," said Smith. "I'm sure we'll see that determination on Friday night."
Smith is boosted by the return of prop Mitch Garbutt but he will be without the injured Jamie Ellis and Jordan Abdull for the visit of Huddersfield, meaning he must choose between Joe Keyes and Mikey Lewis to partner Ryan Brierley in the halves.
Hull KR lost all three games against Huddersfield last season and the Giants have hit the ground running in 2020.
The only Super League side yet to taste defeat, Huddersfield made it two wins from two last week thanks to Aidan Sezer's late penalty goal.
Giants coach Simon Woolford has added centre Jake Wardle to his squad after recovering from an eye injury sustained in the opening game.
He is set to replace Sam Wood in the only change to the team that won at the AJ Bell Stadium.
Ex-Warrington quartet Gareth O'Brien, Matty Russell, Bodene Thompson and Gary Wheeler return to the Halliwell Jones Stadium and how they would love to mark it with a win.
Toronto have endured a difficult start to life in Super League and are the only club yet to register a win this season.
Their threadbare squad is being exposed after only three rounds, having been reduced to 17 players for last Thursday's trip to Wigan.
Things look a bit healthier this week, with Sonny Bill Williams and Jon Wilkin back in contention, while Tony Gigot could make his debut after joining on a four-week trial.
The last thing Toronto probably needed was for Warrington to slip up at Wakefield last Sunday. With Gareth Widdop set to make his home debut, the Wolves will be keen to atone.
"We played some really gritty football in the first two weeks," Steve Price told the Warrington Guardian.
"A few of the things we've been trying to implement were showcased but Sunday wasn't what we expect of ourselves.
"We've addressed that and the short turnaround is the best remedy for us."
Price has named an unchanged squad but could move the versatile Stefan Ratchford into the centres to accommodate Matty Ashton's inclusion at full-back.
