Jake Mamo continues to recover from injury but is not named in the squad, while Tom Lineham has been ruled out after picking up a knock in the win over Huddersfield last week. Jason Clark and Ryan Atkins have both returned to the 19-man squad. Here is my team:
Full Back - 1 Stefan Ratchford
Ratchford has improved a lot in the last few games after a rotten spell of form. His goal-kicking will be key in a game as close as this, and it will be interesting to see his battle with Cas full back Peter Mata'uita.
Winger - 3 Bryson Goodwin
With Lineham and Mamo unavailable, moving Goodwin to the wing seems like the only option. This is where he played in the defeat to Salford and he had a poor game, though he did score. Goodwin is on a scoring run, with four tries in his last three games.
Centre - 4 Ryan Atkins
I can't say I feel brilliant about Atkins coming back into the team, but it looks likely. Goodwin moving out wide means a change in the centre position, and with Atkins being named in the 19-man squad, while Steve Price has this week rubbished rumours of Atkins leaving the club. All this points towards a recall. He needs to be better than in his last outing, particularly with his passing.
Centre - 18 Toby King
With two changes to a back five that has been brilliant in the last two games, we need to keep some consistency and so King will keep his place. Castleford at home was the first time he started at centre this year and he hasn't been out since.
Winger - 5 Josh Charnley
After a few quieter weeks, this would be a perfect time for Charnley to return to the free-scoring form he was in before the St Helens game. A lot of our chances will come down the flanks in this game, so hopefully Charnley's finishing is as reliable as usual.
Stand Off - 6 Blake Austin
The best player in Super League's latest victims are the Castleford Tigers. Can he score for the eighth game in a row? We'll soon find out, but you certainly wouldn't bet against it.
Scrum Half - 15 Declan Patton
This game will see a clash of two young, local halfbacks with Patton for Wire and Jake Trueman for Castleford. We need a big game from Patton, as Austin can't do it all on his own against a good side in Cas.
Prop - 8 Chris Hill
Hill's role in this match will be interesting - with Castleford's pack being so strong we will need good driving runs from the likes of Hill and Cooper.
Hooker - 9 Daryl Clark
Playing against his former side, Clark will be looking to continue his wonderful form of late. He is absolutely key to our chances in any game and his ludicrous consistency is a real asset to our team.
Prop - 10 Mike Cooper
Another one who will be making a return to the Jungle, Cooper is a key player. His offloads help develop a lot of our attacking play, and against a team who like to throw the ball around like Cas do, matching that energy will be important.
Second Row - 11 Ben Currie
It was Castleford that Currie made his comeback from injury against earlier this season, and I expect him to play in this game too, and having scored his first try of 2019 last week, he will hopefully come into this game full of confidence.
Second Row - 12 Jack Hughes
Hughes played at loose forward last week but had a quieter game than usual, so I expect to see him restored to the second row, especially with Murdoch-Masila not making the squad. One of the best tries we have scored this season was Hughes' clever feint against Castleford in Round Five.
Loose Forward - 23 Matt Davis
This position was the one which required most thought. I have been impressed with Davis both from the start and coming off the bench - whereas the likes of Jason Clark and Joe Philbin are better suited to role from the bench.
Interchange - 16 Lama Tasi
Tasi has done well in the last few games. I still think he is a bizarre addition to the squad and I don't really see why we signed him, but he has looked more up for it in recent games.
Interchange - 14 Jason Clark
After being rested against Huddersfield, Jason Clark is likely to be back in the team on Friday night. Hopefully the rest will have done him some good and we'll see a longer stint from him.
Interchange - 19 Sitaleki Akauola
Akauola has done really well in the last two matches and is fighting for his Wire future. The way he has played in the last two games, it would be wrong for him not to be in the squad.
Interchange - 17 Joe Philbin
Definitely our first interchange option, Philbin has reverted back to a bench role in recent weeks after starting a run of games before that. This could be a big game for him - he's looked a lot more attacking lately.
Ratchford; Lineham, Goodwin, King, Charnley; Austin, Patton; Hill, D Clark, Cooper; Currie, Murdoch-Masila; Hughes
Interchanges: Tasi, Akauola, Philbin, Davis
SWEET 17 vs CASTLEFORD:
Ratchford; Goodwin, Atkins, King, Charnley; Austin, Patton; Hill, D Clark, Cooper; Currie, Hughes; Davis
Interchanges: Tasi, J Clark, Akauola, Philbin
The two players that miss out for me are Ben Westwood and Harvey Livett. Neither have really done much lately to warrant a place in the team for this match - though Westwood's experience could be useful so I wouldn't be too surprised to see him make it. This will be a very tricky game against a side who look to get on the front foot and play attacking rugby league. We had the better of them back in March with a great performance at the Halliwell Jones, and it will need to be similarly good to get a result against a fellow title contender away from home. Cas may be out of form, but I think they are better than 5th in the league. The likes of Jake Trueman, Greg Eden, Liam Watts and Peter Mata'utia are all threats and so we will need to perform well to get a result. I am hoping that with two wins on the spin, we can take advantage of Cas' patchy form of late, to get a big win.
If you haven't already, make sure to check out my combined Cas/Wire team, which has caused quite a stir! Check back on the blog for my post-match reaction after Friday's big game. Come on Wire!
It's always our year.
Daniel (@aloosewire)
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