Castleford will have to deal with the threat of Rangi Chase when they face the Salford Red Devils this Sunday, according to Tigers coach Daryl Powell.
The England international joined Salford in the off season from the Tigers and will potentially make his come back from injury against his former side.
Powell is wary of the 27-year-old’s talent despite rumours of off-field problems for the half-back, dismissed by the club.
“We need to look after his threat and obviously he is a pretty smart player, which we know all about,” he said.
“Apart from having to deal with Rangi’s ability as a player, emotionally we shouldn’t get too attached.
“If there is some pressure to be applied to him when we have got the ball, then we will do that. The players have seen enough of him in practice to know what sort of things he is going to throw at us.”
Castleford are undefeated this season meanwhile the Red Devils have only taken two victories from five games despite the high expectations at the beginning of the year.
Salford’s players were blasted in the week by owner Marwan Koukash for their lack of effort on the field but Powell fears his side may be hit by a backlash.
“Salford have lost their last three and will see this as a game they can win, so there is going to be some pressure on us to make sure we get our standards back to where they should be,” he said.
“We have spoken about what we need to do and the importance of games, and the importance of us maintaining our standards which I don’t think we did too well against Hull last week.
“The character and resilience in the team is really shining through at the moment and I think it will be a tough game for us at the weekend.”
Main image courtesy of Super League TV via YouTube, with thanks.
