WATCH: Castleford Tigers v London Broncos - Tigers need to get their mojo back to slow Broncos down

However, 20 years on from making his Rhinos debut, Ward is now certainly making a name for himself in that world.

His London Broncos side arrive at Castleford tomorrow looking for a fourth successive win and with Ward having been named as one of Wayne Bennett’s Great Britain assistants earlier this week.

So many people thought they would be relegated after being promoted last autumn but this fine run has seen them rise off the bottom and truly shake-up the rest of Super League.

“Danny wasn’t one of those types that you thought would definitely be a coach in the future,” admitted Powell, about the 39-year-old who also spent 2006 as a player at Wheldon Road.

“But London have been competitive all the way through.

“Danny’s done a great job with (assistant) Jamie Langley. They’ve been excellent.

“I think probably his personality has helped him a bit as well as he’s really relaxed. He is a funny guy – he’s always laughing –and I think he’s maintained that through the year. They have done a great job and his character and personality helps.

“I had a real good chat with him and Jamie Langley when we were down there earlier in the year and I think it (character) has really helped them to blossom as a team and as a club.

“We have a really tough game on our hands; the form line would suggest they are a better team than us at the moment.”

Indeed, having beaten leaders St Helens, won in Perpignan and then defeated Hull KR in consecutive weeks, London are certainly full of confidence, something Castleford are currently 
lacking.

They have won just once in their last four outings and lost at home to Hull FC and at Salford Red Devils in the last two weeks.

Powell conceded: “They’ll see this as a great opportunity to come up here and knock us off.

“We have to make sure we’re hunting and not being hunted. It’s about us going out being aggressive and playing our game.

“We need to get our DNA back. We haven’t had that this year and need to try and find it again.”

Castleford have lost Junior Moors to a fractured hip so Will Maher comes into the 19-man squad while Greg Eden has failed to recover from the late injury that saw him withdraw just before the Salford game meaning Tuoyo Egodo retains his spot.

Having slipped out of the top five, Powell insisted: “We just have to focus on ourselves and make sure we play well.

“The mood is great. You might think it’d be a little different but we’ve trained exceptionally well the last three, four weeks.

“We have to start turning that into performances and results now. It’s a pivotal stage of the season and our next three games are absolutely crucial to us.”

They host Leeds Rhinos next Sunday and then head to Wakefield Trinity.