Agar dismisses idea of Castleford slump

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats coach Richard Agar is not being conned by Castleford Tigers’ lull in form.

Given his own side have picked up two successive wins and Castleford – Super League’s surprise package in 2014 – have lost their last couple, there is belief in some quarters Trinity could cause a Magic Weekend upset tomorrow.

Agar knows his 12th-placed outfit can achieve that but is not fooled by their opponents’ apparent downturn given defeats were narrow losses against Huddersfield and leaders Leeds Rhinos.

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“They have been playing well; they aren’t in a slump,” he said.

“Cas are our rivals and it is a big derby game, but I have a lot of admiration for what they’ve achieved so far this season.

“The signs were there at the back end of last year.

“Their style of football is good and they are strong in the middle in particular – Craig Huby, Andy Lynch and their two good, young hookers have been the key to their success.

“Their middle guys pass the ball really well and it allows them to play with great width and allows the half-backs to get on with their jobs.

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“You can see the confidence in their team. They’ve put together a team and a style that suits them.”

Agar could give a debut to Richard Owen tomorrow, the winger who only joined from Castleford on Thursday, while Australian centre Dean Collis is fit again since hurting a quad in the Good Friday loss against Tigers.

Forwards Andy Raleigh and Chris Annakin have dropped out with the latter likely to feature for Featherstone Rovers tomorrow.

Wakefield, meanwhile, ended a six-match losing run with wins over Hull FC and Widnes Vikings.

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Agar, whose side were defeated 49-24 by Castleford at Magic Weekend 12 months ago, said: “We’ve been gradually stringing it together for longer periods.

“We know we have still got to be better with the ball in the final third, but we know we will evolve and get better.”