Shenton hoping for a happy ending this time

He scored a try for St Helens in the 2011 Grand Final but then – with his side 16-8 ahead against Leeds Rhinos – had to depart early due to a painful dislocated elbow.

Saints, of course, went on to lose but the England centre could book another place at the Theatre of Dreams tonight in readiness to perhaps earn a first, much-desired Super League title.

Standing in his – and Castleford’s way – are his erstwhile employers as Saints, six-times Super League champions, look to upset the odds in a fascinating semi-final at Wheldon Road.

Shenton, who has excelled leading Tigers to their first-ever League Leaders’ Shield this term, admitted: “It was one of the highlights of my career, when I played for St Helens, to walk out at Old Trafford for a Grand Final.

“To be part of that atmosphere was fantastic and it will be awesome to get there again with Cas.

“I have played in some big games for the club, but this (semi) is right up there because you know where it leads.

“You can’t get too caught up on that, though; you don’t want the pressure to build up too much.

“Of course, it’s an important game and we are desperate to win it, but we want to kind of have a relaxed feeling about it and not get too het up. It’s about us playing as well as we have done this season, having some composure about us and being as consistent as we have all season.”

If Castleford, who have won 25 of their 30 league games, can maintain that composure you would expect them to progress.

At their best, they have been unplayable at times this season, playing a style of rugby that has not only reaped points but thrilled crowds, too.

Admittedly, it all means little now if they cannot reproduce when it matters most.

That is all the more reason why all eyes will be on the teamsheet around 7pm tonight to see if their talisman Luke Gale, shortlisted for Man of Steel, does take his place in the line-up just 16 days after surgery to remove his appendix. The talk earlier this week was the England scrum-half – named Rugby League Writers and Broadcasters Association Player of the Year yesterday – was confident of facing Saints and the omission of both replacement No7s Tom Holmes and Jacob Trueman from their 19-man squad backs that theory up.

It could all merely be smoke and mirrors, mind, and it would not surprise some if, indeed, the Man of Steel candidate did not actually take to the field to continue his devastating left-edge combinations with Shenton and prolific winger Greg Eden.

Castleford lost 48-16 at home to Hull FC on Friday but omitted a raft of key players, including Shenton, although they did lose 26-12 to Saints at Wheldon Road at the beginning of the Super 8s.

Saints sacked club legend Keiron Cunningham as coach in April following a wretched start but they have recovered admirably under Australian Justin Holbrook and are now unrecognisable from that earlier side.

After initially almost throwing away their top-four hopes with a slight wobble, the 2014 champions arrive looking for a fourth successive win and eager to capitalise on any nerves shown by a Castleford team under pressure to deliver the club’s first-ever championship in 91 years.

Shenton, who has played all his career at Castleford save for 2011 and 2012 in Merseyside, said: “Saints are very strong in defence as shown on their last visit here.

“If you do break them down you still have to break another layer of defence as their scrambling defence works overtime to stop you getting over the line.

“You have to be patient and come up with some smart plays to score points.

“We’ve got to play a bit of finals football; make sure we build pressure and that our defence is non-stop for 80 minutes because Saints are good at switching the plays and finding players who knock off. We have to be fully switched on.”

Shenton, 31, was one of six Castleford players named in the Dream Team this week.

“I’m especially pleased for Grant Millington as he’s probably missed out before when he should have been in and it’s great to see he’s now getting the recognition he deserves,” he said, about the long-serving Australian.

“He’s been sensational for us. To play the way we play we need a good ball-playing prop and Millo is probably the best in the comp’.

“At one point he’d so many bandages and strappings holding him together but he just dug in and kept playing when we were missing Adam Milner and Junior Moors. He’s a tough old boy.”