MEAT THE TEAMS!
Butchers name joints after stars as Cas bid for first title
It IS known as the theatre of Dreams thanks to the exploits of the myriad legendary footballers who have used its stage to prompt generations of Manchester United fans to pinch themselves.
tonight, however, Old trafford may again live up to its famous moniker thanks to a rugby league team that almost went bust four years ago.
Castleford tigers are the bookies’ favourites to overturn Leeds Rhinos, the big boys from down the road who have won a record seven Super League Grand Finals.
Even the loss of star man Zak Hardaker, suspended for breaching club rules, has failed to take the shine off the tigers’ first such showpiece.
Grand Final fever has gripped the tiny, league-obsessed town. In the butchers, they are naming joints of beef after players. At the last count, the population stood at around 40,000 — about 30,000 will cross the Pennines this afternoon. It is some dream. In 2013, the tigers, operating with an overdraft of £300,000, were subjected to special measures. But under the guidance of chief executive Steve Gill, who grew up operating the scoreboard, and wily coach Daryl Powell, the transformation has been rapid.
Powell, who played in the first Grand Final for Leeds, has introduced a brand of free-flowing, entertaining rugby. the 52-year-old believes it can even help England to glory at the forthcoming World Cup. ‘We have a style of playing that’s a bit different,’ he said.
‘ I said to the players last November we’ll win the championship playing our way, then we’ll play an Australian team (in the World Club Challenge between England and Australia’s champions) playing our way and hopefully win that game. We want to be a blueprint for the British game.’
Cas’s vibrant version, with Luke Gale conducting the orange and black orchestra, has won them admirers far and wide. But for Powell, the man on the street in a town still battling back after the pit closures of the 1980s is his priority. ‘For a lot of people, you work 9 to 5 and you want something to get passionate about,’ he said. ‘the job’s hard and you want something at the weekend that will make you feel good about yourself. If we can make people feel good, that means something.’
Standing in tigers’ way are the resurgent Rhinos, who have had a turnaround of their own. Last season, they struggled and at one point an unthinkable relegation reared its head. In the darkest moments coach Brian McDermott used his time in the Royal Marines to keep things in perspective. ‘You go through some tough times,’ McDermott, who toured Northern Ireland and served in the first Gulf War, told Sportsmail. ‘No matter what this job throws at me it can’t be as bad as that.’ the 47– year-old had to keep his head. ‘the coach that takes Leeds Rhinos down? I didn’t want that on me,’ he said. ‘But when everyone is saying, “Oh my God, this is heavy”, because of what I’ve done in the past I’m thinking, “Calm down”. It’s big but it’s not that bad. Nobody’s died.’
McDermott tried his shovel hands at boxing before launching a successful career in league and uses the sport on a regular basis to inspire his men. He believes they are in for another scrap at Old trafford.
‘Castleford are not a myth,’ he said. ‘they have a toughness. they are a hard team to beat. We’re going to have to be really good and I mean really good, across the board.’
CASTLEFORD TIGERS (from): Cook, Eden, Foster, Gale, Hitchcox, Holmes, Massey, McMeeken, McShane, Millington, Milner, Minikin, Moors, Monaghan, Roberts, Sene-Lefao, Shenton, Springer, Webster.
LEEDS RHINOS (from): Golding, Briscoe, Watkins, Moon, Hall, McGuire, Burrow, Parcell, Cuthbertson, Jones-Buchanan, Ablett, Ward, Sutcliffe, Singleton, Garbutt, Keinhorst, Ferres, Mullally, Walker.