Castleford Tigers enjoying home run as crunch clash looms

However, the club’s fans have not only got used to winning at Wheldon Road where their victorious sequence now stands at 13.

They have also become accustomed to winning in style with Daryl Powell’s side scoring an average of 43 points per game there in 2017.

They have received praise aplenty for the manner of those displays, including victory in their last eight league games to open a seven-point gap at the top.

Ahead of last Friday’s fixture between the sides, Leeds Rhinos’ head coach Brian McDermott claimed the media had been guilty of putting their West Yorkshire rivals on a “pedestal”, talking about the way they play “as if they’ve invented another version of the game and put them under pressure” in doing so.

Clearly, it was just a tactic to try to unsettle visiting Castleford, but, whereas a similar barb worked for Lee Radford, whose Hull side eliminated Tigers from the Challenge Cup the previous week, it did not reap any rewards for Leeds, who fell 23-12.

Obviously, for all their exhilarating play, Castleford have still won nothing of note yet and will not be heading to Wembley.

But the media has never put Powell’s side on a pedestal nor claimed they will win everything in sight, as has been the insinuation.

Rather, with the sport clamouring to attract new audiences and hardly inundated with expressive football, it has merely urged people to enjoy the obvious sense of freedom and ambition with which they play.

Furthermore, the high level of execution Castleford have largely managed to produce this term should be applauded.

Yes, they may not win any trophies – although the League Leaders’ Shield will surely be within their grasp if they defeat Hull – but for a sport that, via its main broadcaster, so often exaggerates the quality of what is on show, credit should be given where, for once, it is actually due.

What about the man behind it all?

Fifty-one-year-old Powell has always been a believer in playing a certain way and he undoubtedly has Castleford operating with confidence and belief.

Perhaps most crucially, they are defending with far more steel and that has certainly been the cornerstone of their march.

Importantly, whereas some sides are told they are not allowed to promote the ball in certain areas of the field, Powell actively encourages his side to simply “play what they see” and the likes of Luke Gale, Benny Roberts and Zak Hardaker are happy to oblige.

His coaching staff place a large emphasis on practising skills so it is no fluke they are so often able to exploit opportunities. As the former Great Britain centre says himself, there is no point drilling such skills if they are not going to be used come match-day.

“The big thing for me is getting a group of footballers who enjoy what they do,” he explained.

“As much as sometimes there’s a place for it, I’ve never seen many actually enjoy carrying the ball for five drives and then booting it.

“Players enjoy what they do with the ball in their hands and that is an important part of it all as I think that is when you get the best out of people.

“It’s mainly about space and playing to it while we have players who enjoy expressing themselves.

“The big thing I enjoy is fitting it all together and then watching it grow and improve.

“I like to see people improve, play their game and work at the little things that we as a coaching staff and they as players have put together. It’s all a combination that drives excellence and that’s what we’re after consistently.

“Defence is as big a part of that as attack and we focus on both sides just as much.

“Improving our defence, as we have this year, has given us a bit more freedom to play, too; we know if we do make a mistake at some point we can dig in and protect our line. That’s been a really pleasing part of our development this year.

“With the ball, we know we have the ability to break teams down and often it is the decision-making more than anything that is key; making the right choice of pass at the right time.”

Friday’s game will be intriguing with Hull having proved a bogey side to their rivals, having beaten them twice this season.

As well as that Cup quarter-final success, Radford’s side won 26-24 at the KCOM Stadium in April and will be desperate to make it a treble not only to continue that trend, but to underline their own title potential.

Warrington were the last team to prosper at Wheldon Road on July 17 in Castleford’s final regular home fixture of last season.

Tigers – still to win a championship in their 91 years –went on to beat Wigan, Wakefield and Widnes at home in the Super 8s to start this impressive run.

Hull will look to shatter all that and deliver a fifth straight win in the process.

Either way, and for many reasons, it has the makings of the game of the season so far.