Underdogs Cas are on a roll as Gale sneaks it
LUKE GALE is happy for Castleford to go under the radar despite Friday’s thrilling one-point win over Leeds.
The Tigers have yet to hit the heights of last season when they romped to the League Leaders’ Shield by 10 points.
Friday’s 25-24 win over last year’s Grand Final winners the Rhinos made it four in a row for Daryl Powell’s men, but Man of Steel Gale believes they are still being underestimated.
Gale (above) said: “Everyone seems to be panicking.
“We might not be playing at our best but we’re still racking the wins up and no one remembers the games in March really or how much you won them by.
“In-house we know we can be title contenders.
“I don’t mind the underdogs status when everyone writes you off – it happened after St Helens racked up a big score on us.
“I’m used to being the underdog at Cas apart from last year when everyone thought we were all singing and dancing.
“It ebbs and flows throughout the year – I’m sure we’ll go through a patch where everyone says we’re title contenders again and we’ll have a bad game and be written off. That’s sport in general, but I don’t mind the underdog tag.”
Friday’s game attracted the Rhinos’ biggest regular season attendance of the summer era, with 23,246 at Elland Road while Headingley continues to be redeveloped.
England international Gale, whose drop goal on the night proved decisive as his side almost surrendered a 24-0 lead, believes that more Super League matches could be taken to bigger venues.
He said: “I think it’s a great concept at Elland Road, kind of like a mini Grand Final.
“The atmosphere was outstanding and it’s a great thing for Leeds to have, I really enjoyed playing there.
“It just feels a bit different to a normal round, a bit more special.
“It was a cracking win for us – well, 20 minutes of it was and then we were kind of on the back foot.
“We had a great start and then Leeds do what they y do best and come back at you. “We w were scrappy. I’ll take t the two points but there’s room fo for improvement.
“It was a big win but we were not that great.”