Castleford Tigers v Huddersfield Giants: Black cats, broken mirrors but no excuses from Craig Lingard

Castleford Tigers have yet to win in 2024 and are dealing with an early-season selection crisis.

But rather than curse Castleford's bad luck, Lingard is taking it all in his stride ahead of Friday's visit of Huddersfield Giants.

"Muizz Mustapha has picked up a PCL (posterior cruciate ligament) injury in training so he is off to see the specialist," said Lingard, who has prop Sylvester Namo available for the first time this week.

"It's not going to be a week or two; you're probably looking at weeks on end with that one, depending on the outcome of the specialist’s report.

"Someone else has failed a fitness test from the 21-man squad. We currently have 10 unavailable players so it's backs to the wall a little bit at this moment in time.

"As much as we might want to complain or moan about it, there's no point wasting energy over it because it's not going to change. I could sit here thinking I've picked up a black cat and thrown it into a mirror shop and broken loads of mirrors but what good is that going to do?

"We're dealing with it as best we can and are confident in the 17 that will go out on the field."

It was never likely to be plain sailing for Castleford following an overhaul of the squad that flirted with relegation last season.

The Tigers have a fresher look after recruiting hungry players with points to prove at the top level.

Although the results have gone against his depleted side, Lingard has not lost sight of the bigger picture.

"We would love to have 400-500 grand to go out and buy three or four top-quality marquee players but we've not got that and are not going to do that," he said.

"We made a decision at the start of the season to press the reset button and spend some time on developing some younger players who are maybe more inexperienced than others in Super League to try benefit the club long term rather than look for a short-term fix.

"We've committed to doing that and know there are going to be bumps in the road along the way and learning curves with younger players.

"We weren't necessarily expecting to be without Paul McShane, Liam Watts and some other senior players and have to cope in their absence.

"That means you're developing some of the younger players a little bit earlier than you thought but the bonus of doing that is we're exposing them to Super League rugby quicker. That's going to benefit us longer term.

"Our commitment and focus for this season hasn't changed. We're looking at winning as many games as we possibly can while developing these players into full-time Super League players for years to come for Castleford."

The Tigers have not tasted success in a competitive fixture since defeating Hull FC at Wheldon Road in September, the last of just six wins in 2023.

Although there have been positive signs in the opening three rounds, it is tangible results that supporters crave.

Lingard has warned his team against overchasing that elusive first win.

"The more you think about it, the more it weighs on you," he said.

"We don't want to be saying we've got to win; it's about making sure we nail the stuff we need to do because if we get our processes right, the wins will come.

"Once you get that first win, you get the confidence that what you've been doing is right and that might subconsciously take a weight off people's shoulders – but we're just concentrating on trying to do the right things more often than not."

Huddersfield got off the mark at the first attempt with an encouraging win at Leigh Leopards but have since been handed reality checks by the best two sides in the competition in St Helens and Wigan Warriors.

Whereas Castleford are building for the future and chasing little wins along the way, a top-six finish is the minimum requirement for the Giants after a hugely disappointing campaign in 2023.

There is expectation on Huddersfield to take home the spoils against a team tipped to keep London Broncos company at the bottom but Ian Watson has stressed that there are no bankers in Super League.

"What you've got to do is go there and be willing to do the hard work," said the Giants boss, who can call upon captain Luke Yates and fellow forward Harry Rushton for the first time this year.

"There are no easy games in Super League anymore. It's not like it used to be five or six years ago where you knew you'd have real tough games and then the bottom end would be a little bit easier.

"It's nothing like that these days. Every team is as good as each other and can win on the day if the other side isn't prepared."