Paul McShane believes race for play-offs will go down to the wire

Castleford captain Paul McShane believes the race to make the Super League play-offs will go down to the final round of the regular season.

The Tigers currently occupy fifth spot in the Super League table, with five games of the regular season still left to play.

Castleford play Catalans, Huddersfield, Warrington, Salford and Leeds in their final five games of the regular campaign.

“We are in the six at the minute which is a positive,” McShane said.

“We can only control our results by our performances. If we get the right result then we are in control of our own destiny come the end of the season.

“I think there are four or five teams now who are a win away from each other. We play two of the sides who are in that mix as well as teams who are above us so we just have to worry about being on our game and getting the right results.

“I think Salford and Leeds are playing really well. They’ve found some really good form at the right time of the year so it is going to be a close one.”

Paul McShane on Super League’s injury crisis

Castleford coach Lee Radford has revealed they may struggle to field 17 fit players for Friday’s game against Catalans.

But the Tigers aren’t the only ones doing it tough in Super League. The likes of Hull KR, Salford, Leeds and Catalans have been forced to field decimated squads in recent weeks.

“The game is that much faster now,” McShane replied when asked by Love Rugby League about the mounting injury problems in Super League.

“I don’t know if it is a bit of wear and tear but there are two or three teams who are having a bit of a criss. There are one or two who probably aren’t in it which is pretty rare.”

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There is a double-header weekend in Super League coming up, where teams will have to play twice just a couple of days apart.

“It is going to be tough but it is tough for everyone,” McShane said.

“I think in that period we play teams who are around us so we just have to be willing to roll our sleeves up and get out there really. Hopefully that will lead into a tough play-off series for us.”

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