Tigers look to crowd for lift

Castleford hope to break their crowd record for a Super League match today when their big city rivals from Leeds come to The Jungle.

Given the gates for the first weekend of matches in the competition - which were the highest in its nine-season history - and the enmity towards the Rhinos, the crowd record between these teams, in 2000, of 11,702 could fall.

The only negative factor could be that fans cannot be sure how good an effort they can expect to see from the hosts. For the Tigers lost all their pre-season friendlies, fell at Huddersfield on the opening day, then stuttered through their Challenge Cup tie against UTC last week.

In some ways it should not be surprising that Graham Steadman's side still look an unfinished product. He has a new half-back pairing of Ryan Sheridan and Sean Rudder and he is without the two players he was relying on for strike power - Paul Newlove and Paul Mellor, both injured. He is also still without Andy Lynch, perhaps the most improved forward in the competition last season.

By the time they get those players back, it could already be looking like a long season, but they at least have hopes today of seeing Francis Maloney return after a hamstring injury. If nothing else, that will improve their goal-kicking.

By contrast, all the signs coming out of Headingley have been positive. Not only have Leeds been winning, they have been doing so with the style that their fans have traditionally demanded.

Any fears that new coach Tony Smith would adopt a more utilitarian approach have been firmly set aside. His eagerness to run with Danny McGuire and Rob Burrow as his half-backs shows a more expansive attitude than that of his predecessor Daryl Powell.

He has also succeeded in re-integrating the two players jailed last year, Ryan Bailey and Shev Walker, into the team. Even seniors like Barrie McDermott have been given licence to spread their wings. In McDermott's case, that means being encouraged to off-load the ball in the tackle, even if that leads to a riskier brand of rugby.