2014 Preview - Castleford Tigers

A little bit of a season of two halves in 2013 with the mid season coaching change, but now Daryl Powell has a full year with the team to work on the little bit of promise shown. A 12th place finish though showed little progress overall on the field and it seems pretty quiet with progress off the field too, both of which might be key to a strong future and avoiding returning to being the yo-yo club of pre-licensing.
 

The on field impact of the loss of Rangi Chase is the big question. Chase has ran the show almost single handedly for years and last year had a hand in a over a third of his teams tries when he played, and carried the ball more than anyone else in Super League. Just where will the creativity come from now? On the other hand, could it help? Castleford can start playing a more structured, organised attack without him.

Of the seven departures, Chase is the big name. Four half backs options have been signed as possibilities to replace him with Brett Seymour, Liam Finn and Luke Dorn coming in for probably their last chances in Super League and Marc Sneyd on loan from Salford. Much could be decided on how quickly they can settle on the right combination and how often that combination can play together.
 

Jordan Thompson, Jacob Emmitt and Jonathan Walker have been solid contributors as well, although the replacements are their equal in Ashley Gibson, Andy Lynch, Scott Wheeldon and Frankie Mariano.
 

They do have some strike weapons with powerful Justin Carney backing up from a ... try debut season. If he keeps out of trouble he is a match for any opponent. As are their two young hookers. Its hard to believe Daryl Clark is only 20 years of age as he has been much talked about in his three years as a pro. He possesses great speed and try scoring instinct - a try every three games is good going for a hooker - as well as a huge defensive engine - he led the Tigers in tackles in 2013, making over 30 tackles in a game 12 times. He is spelled with equally talented and some may feel more of an all rounder Adam Milner who had his best year to date in 2013 and will wear the number 9 jersey in 2014.

The Tigers are always good for a few upsets and should be well coached in 2014. They still have bad boy Carney and exciting Clark who can threaten any team. Consistency will be an issue with little strength in depth in most areas.

League Leaders Odds: 200/1
Grand Final Odds: 250/1
Cup Odds: 66/1
(source: Oddschecker.com)
 

Mark's predictions:
League place - 11th
Key man - Wellar Hauraki
One to watch - Ben Reynolds

Tom's predictions:
League place - 13th
Key man - Wellar Hauraki
One to watch - Adam Milner