Positive mindset helps Castleford Tigers play with '˜no fear', says Daryl Powell

They head to the Challenge Cup finalists looking to secure a fourth successive victory for the first time this year.

Included in that run are wins overs Wakefield Trinity, in the final round of 23, and back-to-back Super 8s victories over leaders Hull FC and second-placed Wigan Warriors.

Their last loss was the 42-26 reverse at home to Warrington on July 17 and Powell conceded: “This week we’ve rewound to the last time we played them.

“That game was a bit of a line drawn in the sand for us.

“We were 18-6 up at half-time and then got blown away a little bit 10 minutes into the second half.

“We’ve changed some things since then and it’s worked for us. We’ve got a real positivity about us; we’re enjoying what we’re doing.”

He does not believe treble-chasing Warrington will necessarily have one eye on Wembley where they meet Hull next Saturday.

Powell, who knows how that preparation can be having taken Castleford there in 2014, said: “It doesn’t just happen – catching them cold.

“It’s like short turnarounds. Nothing just happens, it’s about how you play your game. If we keep playing the way we have been doing then I think we can put Warrington under a bit of pressure.

“How they react to that is up to them. They’ll see there’s still a chance of top spot for them but we’ve got nothing to lose.

“At the moment things are working for us: we’re a dangerous team at the moment, there’s no doubt about it.”

Castleford remain in sixth place with only an extremely slim chance of reaching the top-four. But, after morale-boosting wins over the top two, their experienced coach is encouraged by what is possible.

“At the start, we felt like a duck waiting to be shot for a while – and now we’ve got hold of the gun,” he said.

“There’s nothing for us to fear; we’ll keep having a go at teams and we believe we can be a top-four team.

“Defensively there is more stiffness about us.”