Match preview: Castleford Tigers
Everything you need to know for Saturday’s Betfred Super League clash with Castleford Tigers.
The Brief
Wigan Warriors face Castleford Tigers on Saturday afternoon in Round 10 of the Betfred Super League (4:15pm kick off).
Adrian Lam’s side return to action for the first time in two weeks, following last weekend’s Coral Challenge Cup Sixth Round.
The Warriors will play their ‘home’ game against the Tigers in Warrington as the Halliwell Jones Stadium stages five Super League fixtures this weekend.
The Cherry and Whites were scheduled to face Catalans Dragons on Saturday, but following the announcement on Tuesday night that three Dragons players and one non-playing member of staff had tested positive for Covid-19, Wigan’s opposition had to be reshuffled. Learn more here.
Wigan head into the game top of the table with six wins so far, including the opening two of the restart against Wakefield Trinity and Leeds Rhinos.
Contrastingly, Castleford have won four and lost four so far and currently sit in seventh spot in the league standings. Since the restart, Daryl Powell’s men have lost both games to Catalans Dragons and St Helens.
Team News
Adrian Lam has made three changes to the Wigan Warriors 21 from their last outing against Leeds Rhinos.
Tommy Leuluai returns from an ankle injury, Ben Flower comes back from a back injury and George Burgess features after serving a one-match suspension. Mitch Clark, Jack Wells and Joe Burgess miss out.
Ollie Partington isn’t available as he serves out the fourth and final of a four-match ban for a Grade D Dangerous Contact committed against Hull KR in early March.
Sean O’Loughlin remains sidelined following a hamstring injury sustained in training. Oliver Gildart is “potentially one more week away” from a return to action from his shoulder injury – according to Adrian Lam – who spoke on at Wednesday’s virtual press conference.
The Head Coach also commented on the status of forward Tony Clubb, who hasn’t featured since the restart due to a neck injury.
“Tony Clubb, that looks like it may not be good news and could be more long term, we are getting clarification on that.”
Here is Wigan’s 21-man squad:
The Opposition
Here is Castleford’s 21-man squad:
Previous Meetings
Wigan and Castleford have each won five of the last ten meetings between the two sides.
Last ten meetings:
- Castleford 16, Wigan 12 (SLR2, 7/2/20)
- Wigan 26, Castleford 8 (SLR29, 12/9/19)
- Wigan 6, Castleford 4 (SLR13, 27/4/19)
- Castleford 38, Wigan 28 (SLR9, 5/4/19)
- Wigan 14, Castleford 0 (SLSF, 5/10/18)
- Wigan 24, Castleford 22 (SLS8-R1, 10/8/18)
- Castleford 19, Wigan 18 (SLR6, 22/6/18)
- Wigan 28, Castleford 12 (SLR12, 20/4/18)
- Wigan 20, Castleford 38 (SLS8-R6, 17/9/17)
- Castleford 54, Wigan 4 (SLR12, 29/4/17)
Super League summary
- Wigan won 36 (includes wins in 2002, 2009 and 2018 play-offs)
- Castleford won 17 (includes win in 1999 play-offs)
- 3 draws
Head to Head
Here are a few statistics between the two teams from the season so far:
The Stats
Please be reminded that, although the Betfred Super League table has been amended following the withdrawal of Toronto Wolfpack, appearances made and points scored by individual players in Toronto fixtures will remain on players’ records.
Tommy Leuluai needs one appearance to reach 300 in Super League. The Kiwi half-back has played 262 games for Wigan in two different spells (2007-2012, 2017-2020) and 37 times for Harlequins/London Broncos (2005-2006).
Coach Quotes
Facing the media via Zoom on Wednesday, Lam explained how aware his side are to the threat that Castleford could pose on Saturday.
He said: “They had a tough game against St Helens last time around and I thought they had a chance of winning.
“They move the ball a fair bit so if we go there and are a little bit off, it’ll be a tough day for us.”
Match Officials
The man in the middle on Sunday will be James Child. The video referee is Chris Kendall.
How to Follow
Due to limited media capacity at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, Listen Live will unfortunately be unable to broadcast on Saturday.
Warriors season ticket holders can watch the game live via the RFL’s OurLeague streaming service.
In addition, the game – like all Betfred Super League fixtures in August – will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
Furthermore, Wigan fans can follow every piece of the action via our social media channels and website.
- Twitter (@WiganWarriorsRL) – live game updates and reaction at the final hooter.
- Instagram (@wiganwarriorsrl) – live behind-the-scenes action, both before and after kick-off.
- Facebook (Wigan Warriors) – live matchday information.
- Website (www.wiganwarriors.com) – post-match reaction including match report, and Head Coach and players reaction.
Wigan TV
Matches will continue to be available – as usual – on Wigan TV, with highlights, extended highlights and full match replays available after the relevant holdback times. There will also be post-match interviews available to watch.
If you’re not already a subscriber to Wigan TV, click HERE today to join. Choose a monthly (£5.99), quarterly (£11.99) or annual (£38.99) subscription with no contract. Pay with PayPal or credit/debit card.
Other Fixtures
Saturday 29th August
- Wigan Warriors vs Castleford Tigers (4:15pm)
- Leeds Rhinos vs Salford Red Devils (6:30pm)
Sunday 30th August
- Hull KR vs St Helens (1pm)
- Huddersfield Giants vs Hull FC (4:15pm)
- Warrington vs Wakefield Trinity (6:30pm)
