Now this is the tough one for me. Arguably the best attacking team in the competition for me with Hardaker, Eden, Minikin, Chase, Gale, McShane, Milner running the show, we will have a lot of work to do.

Tough shout aswell as we will more than likely be without Galloway, JJB, Ward, Ferres.

Golding
Briscoe Watkins Moon Hall
McGuire Burrow
Garbutt Parcell Singleton
Ablett Keinhorst
Sutcliffe

Cuthbertson Ormondroyd Mullally Delaney

Walters Baldwinson

As alluded to by others on other threads, our best chance here is to keep it tight with a good defensive display. Cas are a side that will always concede soft points, so our lack of creativity near the line may not be such a problem. The big question is can we contain them for long enough periods when they are having a hot spell.

I would say we win a close encounter or get hammered out of sight.

What's the news on Ward and JJB?

We regularly keep it tight at Cas, regardless of win or lose. Even last year, defences were tight at their place. But on this occasion our best chance is Cas themselves, and just how overly confident they are. I have a sneaky feeling they are so confident that someone who they don't expect to beat them is going to do just that, very soon.

Ala HKR last year!

Dream on

I don't think we know how to keep it tight at the moment. I know we haven't shipped a lot of points but we have conceded a lot of penalties and a lot of breaks. Our on the line defence and last ditch tackles are what has kept us in games. At some point that will fail and we will be in for a hammering.

The key for me is converting pressure into points when e have it. If we had done that in the first three games we would have won all and done so much easier.

It will be a good test of both teams aspirations on Thursday.

JJB had a boot on in the long bar and Ward has done something to his hamstring, both doubts.

Seems poor Stevie Ward can't get a break. Hope he is just going through what John Bateman did when at Bradford and can start stringing games together. I still feel a back 3 of Bateman, Currie and Ward can be Englands back row for years to come

Well nothing is going to be kept tight without those. Except possibly Wards hamstrings.

Our fans are confident. Powell and the players will be 100% up for it and no confidence will be involved. Our loss to Hull KR came as we were wothout 10 of our 17 first choice players. We are currently at full strength more a less depending if Roberts is back next week.

Ive said on the casforum that this will be our toughest game to score points. You dont concede many so will be a tough ask. If you can keep us to around the 20mark you have every chance of winning as we concede too many easy tries.

No confidence from me. any team to win by less than a try on this one.

For once it is our cup final

Last few times we have played cas we haven't rotated subs properly and ended up getting torn apart at the 50 min mark, lets see if Mac has learnt his lesson.

Also, surely it is a mistake not putting a clause in Zaks contract that he couldn't play against us, I would much rather Eden be at the back for them than him.

What's going on with Ferres?

that's a cas win then

Nope.

All sailings cancelled due to storm Doris.

very good

Looking forward to a good game.
Cas v Leeds has always been one of those games where form goes out of the window. I always used to fancy our chances of turning Leeds over when you were a top team and we were scrabbling around the bottom.
In recent years, Powell has out-thought McDermott.
I expect to see a change in our tactics on Sunday and start with Springer, Moors, Millington and McShane on the bench, bringing all four on together after 20 minutes. At the moment, bar Cuthbertson, your bench looks underpowered and Powell will be hoping you won't be able to cope with the power we can introduce.

I hope you do turn up on sunday, we might have half a chance then

Be interesting to see how Cas cope going into this game as handy favorites. I can't recall that happening during the SL era and certainly not in the last decade. There is a marked difference going into a derby when you are a plucky underdog with nothing really to lose (which Cas have always done well against us) as opposed to being the side that is expected to win.

For once we go into this with not too much expected of us, hopefully they can rise to the occasion.

Don't start getting cocky saying Powell has out thought Mac , so has half of Knowsley Safari parks population .

I'd say we were favourites for both games last year, considering the respective positions of the clubs when the games were played?
However, I agree this was the first time for a long time!

If McDermott has any sense he will go with your best forwards on the bench.
We took the game with interchanges both times last season.
We did the same thing to Warrington on Friday - the introduction of Millington,Moors and Cook was a turning point in the game. Indeed, we didn't even use our fourth sub (Monaghan).

whats the point? he'd use two and one other the last 5 minutes