Super League: St Helens v Castleford preview
Last Updated: 19/09/14 1:57pm
St Helens will be looking to take advantage of finishing top by moving to within a game of the Grand Final with success over Castleford Tigers on Friday night.
The teams meet at Langtree Park live on Sky Sports and the victor will then just be 80 minutes from a trip to Old Trafford on October 11.
St Helens have lost two straight, to Warrington and Huddersfield respectively, but clinched top spot courtesy of the Tigers’ 28-6 defeat to Catalan Dragons last Saturday in France.
When the teams met in Round 8 a last-gasp try from Adam Swift gave Saints a remarkable 30-28 win and Nathan Brown’s men also ran out comfortable 38-16 winners on home soil.
Already without Luke Walsh, Jonny Lomax and Jon Wilkin with long-term injuries, Saints have suffered another major blow with the loss of prop Alex Walmsley through suspension but Brown remains confident.
"I think if you asked all the coaches who were within a point or two points of us, they would say St Helens deserved to win the League Leaders' Shield," Brown said. "I don't think anyone would say we didn't after what we've gone through.
"Probably everyone out there will be saying we're the least likely of all the sides in there but we're going to give it a shot.
Learning curve
"Everyone is probably looking at what we don't have, which I can understand, but from our point of view we've learned over the last four or five weeks what works in this group now and we know what doesn't work, which is probably more important.
"If we do the things that that work really, really well for us we’ll give ourselves a good shot. We still think we're capable."
Castleford coach Daryl Powell is set to stick with the side that lost to Catalan Dragons, with James Clare continuing to deputise on the left wing for Justin Carney, who has failed to recover from an ankle injury.
"Top four is a real achievement. It gives us either a week off or a second chance but the week is off is the one we'll be looking for because we haven't had one all year, we'd like that,” said Shenton, who secured a spot in the 2014 Dream Team.
"There is so much more we can achieve this season if we get ourselves out of this little hole we've got ourselves into, this little slump of form.
"I think the pressure is off us, the pressure is on Saints a little bit more than it is on us. We'll just go and play, enjoy our rugby and give ourselves a good chance.
"We've had big challenges all year and most of the time managed to put good performances together. We will start afresh and go there real confident.”
