It's time for my second Combined Team article of the season, and this time it's focused on Castleford, our opponents on Friday night. Castleford and Warrington play some of the most attractive rugby in the whole of Super League and both squads are littered with exciting players. Behind St Helens, Cas and Wire are probably the two best squads in the league, but what would a combined matchday 17 look like? Here goes...
I had to take a few factors into account with this one. Cas have got a few injuries right now, I didn't take these short injuries into account as the players in question have featured this season. I didn't however consider Luke Gale or Kevin Brown, who are both yet to play in 2019 are are likely to miss the entire season. The players I have picked are personal preferences, though I have picked what I genuinely believe to be the best team possible. Let's get underway then!
Full Back - Peter Mata'utia
This was a difficult one. A straight fight between Peter Mata'utia and Stefan Ratchford. Both are big players for their teams and both have had good seasons - though Ratchford has tailed off a little bit lately. Mata'uita has played every game in 2019, as has Ratchford. Mata'uita has recently taken over Castleford's goal-kicking duties and has a record that isn't quite as good as Ratchford's, though has had far less goal attempts than the Wire full back. The main reasons I picked Mata'uita over Ratchford, who has been one of Wire's best players in the last few years, is that the Castleford man makes less errors and certainly has done this season. I also think his support play is a bit better - he looks to get others involved in the game and helps get his side on the front foot. He's been an impressive new signing, though it was still hard to go against a player who has been so good for us.
Winger - Tom Lineham
Tom Lineham or James Clare was the choice I was faced with here. Lineham has been excellent for us and has re-established himself back in the team after losing his place for a while. He is very dangerous in the corner and has a lot of strength too. Clare is a player who is quick and hard to stop near the line, and has played well in the Championship too, for Bradford. Lineham however, while not quite in the top echelons of wingers in the league such as Josh Charnley and Tommy Makinson, is still a top player and was a fairly comfortable choice here.
Centre - Greg Minikin
Centre is a bit of an area of weakness for both teams. Minikin is a sound player and well-liked among the Cas fans, bagging three tries this season. He isn't as prolific as some of the centres in the league but he sees a lot of the ball and has made up more than 1000 metres this season. He isn't particularly great at tackling but at only 24 years of age, this is something that he will grow into. He has always had a good try scoring rate, at both York and Batley and it will be interesting to see if he can continue this over the next few years at Cas. Personally I think that Minikin is Cas' best centre rather than Michael Shenton. I like Bryson Goodwin a lot but we haven't seen much of him this season, while Jake Mamo has also been in and out of the team, and I still am not a fan of Ryan Atkins - so Minikin it had to be.
Centre - Toby King
I've gone for a very youthful partnership in the centres, with the 22-year old King partnering a 24-year old Minikin. King has been really good lately for Wire, with some solid performances, particularly in a defensive sense. He has also started to form a great partnership with Charnley on the wing, King registering five assists this season with his clever balls into wide areas. As mentioned before, centre isn't the best area for either of these two sides, though Castleford will have Cheyse Blair joining them soon - and he could take one of these two spots. I also rate Tuoyo Egodo and I think he has a bright future.
Winger - Josh Charnley
Charnley is the top-scoring winger in the league this season and has been a sensational signing for the Wire since joining last year. His calmness in front of the try line is exemplary and you would always back him to finish his chances to score. What's also impressive about Charnley is the defensive output you get from him too - he works hard and brings more to the team than just tries. Greg Eden is also a brilliant scorer and if I was basing this decision on pure scoring, it would be very close, as Eden has an absolutely phenomenal record for Cas, but for me there are too many errors to his all-round game, displayed partcularly in the Tigers' shocking performance against St Helens earlier this year.
Stand Off - Blake Austin
This was the easiest decision of the lot. Austin has been the best player in the whole of Super League this season. His running game is getting better and better, and to have scored 14 tries in 13 games from halfback is absolutely ridiculous. He is already one of the most talented players I've ever seen at Warrington and the skills he has shown have been as good as anything you could wish to witness. His trademark dummies are a joy to behold, while his brace of tries against Huddersfield at the weekend were outstanding - one the result of a brilliant run where he sidestepped five players, the other being scored after he moved the ball from one hand to the other to make room to touch down. Breathtaking player.
Scrum Half - Jake Trueman
Even though Trueman plays more regularly at stand off, he has also played at scrum half and I was perfectly willing to play Trueman here so that I could get the halfback partnership of Austin and Trueman - which would be sensational. Despite being just 20 years of age, he is already one of the most exciting halves in the league and plays some outstanding rugby league. I firmly believe that he will become one of the best halfbacks Super League has seen in the years to come. I picked Austin and Trueman over Declan Patton - not a hard choice - as well as Gale, who is unavailable for the whole of 2019 through injury. With Kevin Brown injured for the season and Gareth Widdop not arriving at the Halliwell Jones until 2020, I was amazed that we didn't move for Trueman. What a signing he'd have been and what an upgrade on both Brown and Patton he would've been.
Prop - Liam Watts
Castleford's number eight has been probably the best prop in the league so far this season. I consider there to be three outstanding props in Super League - Wakefield's David Fifita, St Helens' Luke Thompson and then Liam Watts at Cas. Watts has been in phenomenal form for Daryl Powell's team and made an unbelievable 49 tackles in the derby win over Wakefield. For this selection, Watts was up against Wire captain Chris Hill. Hill still does a solid job and makes up the metres, but just gives away too many penalties to be considered in the same league as someone like Watts. One hell of a player, and he was great for Hull FC in his six years there too.
Hooker - Daryl Clark
Here's a player that both Castleford and Warrington fans can adore. Clark won the Man of Steel in 2014 while playing for the Tigers, and has been Wire's best player since coming to the Halliwell Jones in 2015. Clark is really starting to put question marks over James Roby's previously undisputed status as the league's best hooker. The work he gets through is absolutely stupid at times, the most impressive moment of his season summing him up in a nutshell: Away at Hull KR, Clark chased back 60 metres to prevent an interception try, before being the first man in the next tackle, forcing a knock-on. He's a freak of nature just like the likes of Jamie Peacock and Keiron Cunningham were. As for Cas, I rate Paul McShane highly but he isn't in the company of Clark or Roby.
Prop - Mike Cooper
The choice of who would fill my second prop spot was a tough one. I went for another ex-Cas player in Mike Cooper. This is a great player who is having a good season for us, with a consistent level of performance. Cooper has developed the attacking side to his game this year, with an impressive 26 offloads. In terms of work-rate, he's right up there in the league. I picked Cooper over Grant Millington, who is also a good player but for me isn't quite as influential as Cooper.
Second Row - Ben Currie
As I've said before, I'm an enormous fan of Currie and for me he is the best second rower in the league. He makes an unreal number of tackles every game and is strong in an attacking sense too, and now that he's got his first try of the season, he will have his confidence back in front of the line. The quality in our second row improved instantly when Currie returned to the team. Currie was up against Castleford's Oliver Holmes, who I rate, but not as highly as Ben Currie.
Second Row - Mike McMeeken
The second spot was between Mike McMeeken and Jack Hughes. Hughes is a fairly solid performer, though my main issue with him is that he can be a bit weak in the tackle - he was particularly poor against Salford. McMeeken is very good with the ball and always makes up a good number of metres, averaging 7.12 metres per carry in 2019. To say he is a second rower, McMeeken has a good scoring record too - 28 tries in 105 games for Cas. Still only 24, he will continue to improve as a player with more and more experience in Super League.
Loose Forward - Joe Philbin
This was definitely the hardest position to choose because of a lack of a clear first-choice at either club. For Wire, we've had Ben Westwood, Jack Hughes, Jason Clark, Lama Tasi, Matt Davis and Joe Philbin all start there this season, while Ben Murdoch-Masila and Harvey Livett can do a shift there too. For Cas, they have Nathan Massey, Junior Moors, Mitch Clark and Matt Cook who can all do a job at loose forward. I believe Cook is the best of those options but he definitely works better from the bench as he can only do short stints, so I went for the player who I think has been the best of our loose forward options so far this season, and that's Joe Philbin.
Interchange - Ben Murdoch-Masila
Murdoch-Masila would be an asset to any bench in Super League. His strength and power are an asset to any team, though his work-rate in his own half is questionable at times. He'd bring some brute force and genuine size to this team, which is lacking a little bit, with a lot of slight, quick players picked.
Interchange - Matt Cook
Matt Cook has been superb for Cas when he's played this season, and has recently signed a contract extension. However, he is definitely a bench player - he only does short stints and so a place on the interchange bench is where he is most suited in this team.
Interchange - Jesse Sene-Lefao
I'm a big fan of Sene-Lefao, I think he's a really good player. He works hard, is a good tackler and gives good carries of the ball too. His versatility at being able to play in the second row, at prop or loose forward means that he'd be a good option on the bench.
Interchange - Jake Mamo
With my three other interchanges, I have provided cover for a number of positions, but there is no cover for any of the backs. I didn't think there was any point having a fourth forward on the bench when there is so much quality there already. In picking Mamo, I have got a player who can play on the wing, at centre or at full back - and with him being able to play full back, it means that Mata'uita would be cover for the halves. I've been really impressed with Mamo so far and I'm looking forward to seeing him back in action, possibly on Friday night.
Coach - Daryl Powell
As much as I love Steve Price and the work he is doing at Warrington, it is impossible to underestimate the job that Daryl Powell has done at Castleford since arriving in 2013. He came to a side that had just finished second from bottom, but after just one season in charge Powell had got the Tigers to 4th in the league, which was followed by back-to-back 5th place finishes, before he guided them to finishing top of the league in 2017, losing just three games all season on their way to winning the league leaders' shield. They made their first ever Grand Final that year too and were unlucky to lose to Leeds, because Cas had been the best side all season. Then last year they finished 3rd and again produced some highly entertaining rugby on the way. Powell turned Castleford from being a relegation-threatened side to a consistent title contender in very little time and with very little budget. For that reason, he is my selection as the coach of this team.
So that's my combined XIII and interchanges for two of the most entertaining sides around. If I was naming a 19 man squad, I'd also include Jack Hughes and Adam Milner so that there was an extra forward in Milner, and a player who could play in the second row, centres or at loose forward in Hughes. Please let me know your thoughts on this team - have I got it right? Any players you think should be included? Join in the discussion on Twitter, where you can follow the blog's account @aloosewire.
Check back on the blog this week for my pre-Castleford piece, and let's get in the mood for Friday!
It's always our year.
Daniel (@aloosewire)
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