Daryl Powell counting the cost of victory as Castleford battle past Wakefield

Castleford coach Daryl Powell is praying Gareth O’Brien will be fit for Wembley after he hobbled out of his team’s 18-12 Super League win over Wakefield.

The former Warrington, Salford and Toronto half-back, who fell awkwardly onto his knee after putting in an attacking kick just before half-time, looked dejected as he sat on the bench before using crutches to make his way to the dressing room.

Powell says O’Brien, who played a key role in the Tigers’ Challenge Cup semi-final win over Warrington, will probably be sent for scans to determine the extent of the injury.

However, he is hopeful that the versatile 29-year-old will be fit in time for the final against St Helens in a month’s time.

“Our physio Matty Crowther has been checking his ACL and that looked alright,” Powell said post-match. “That’s always the worst-case scenario but he felt a little bit better after the game.

“I’m praying that he’s alright and he can get back out there as quickly as possible.”

Castleford made light of the injury to battle past their near neighbours, despite a late Trinity rally, to bring to an end their four-match losing run in Super League and extend their sequence of wins over Trinity to 15.

Powell’s men held a tenuous 10-6 lead at half-time but bossed the show after the break, eventually scoring four tries to two to clinch a seventh successive win at the Mobile Rocket Stadium.

“I thought we were tough and we had to be to win the game,” Powell said. “We are not all singing and dancing by any means but we were better defensively.

“We won the game and that’s the most important thing. We can hopefully start to build some momentum off the back of this and find some fluency.”