Hardaker backs Castleford to seal Leaders' Shield

LONDON: Castleford have one hand on the League Leader's Shield after beating Salford on Friday and two-try star Zak Hardaker is relishing the prospect of clinching the crown on home soil next week.

Hardaker crossed for two first-half tries in the 23-4 victory over Salford, as Paul McShane and Jy Hitchcox also dotted down, to move Castleford 10 points clear of Leeds on top of the Super League table.

Just a draw against Wakefield next Thursday will be enough to guarantee Tigers top spot with four Super 8s games still to play, and Hardaker is convinced the squad can get the job done.

"We head into next week full of confidence and the fans are buzzing for it to be a local derby," he said.

"Getting the result over Wakefield and lifting the trophy would be outstanding. But we've got to get the result first - we've got one hand on the Shield but we need to get two.

"I've been more assisting tries than scoring this year, so to get two towards the back-end of the season as I did against Salford is always good."

Salford's only try came from Manu Vatuvei on his home debut as he latched on to a Todd Carney grubber kick, and the New Zealand Warriors legend is keen for his new side to keep improving after the defeat.

"We knew it would be a massive arm-wrestle in the first half and they capitalised on their opportunities," said Vatuvei.

"That's something we've got to learn every week - we'll keep on building.

"The result was pretty disappointing but we've just got to keep our heads up and look forward."

Meanwhile, a scrappy encounter saw Hull FC edge past St Helens 8-6 thanks to Marc Senyd's 50-metre penalty midway through the second period.

Hull coach Lee Radford believes it was his side's most important win of the season.

"It was the ugliest game of rugby you've seen but I think the significance of that result is huge for us," said Radford, whose side are third in the table and just one point behind second-placed Leeds.

"That's the most satisfying result I've had this year bar none and I include the Challenge Cup semi-final in that due to the difficulty. It was an unbelievable performance." - AFP