Cunningham wants dogfight with Tigers

St Helens coach Keiron Cunningham is looking for his team to put in an aggressive shift against Castleford on Thursday at Langtree Park.

Cunningham is wary of the Tigers’ expansive, attacking style, and wants his team to be dogged and committed in defence, to prevent Cas from building momentum.

“They play a real carefree brand of rugby,” he said.

“It’s as dangerous as any other brand you can play against.

“Sometimes, if the team you’re playing against are a little bit dogged and determined, then that brand can turn round on its head pretty quick for you.

“So that’s what we’ve got to do. It’s our approach to the game, and how we prepare and the way we handle things will determine what Cas do with the ball.

“We want a real dogfight on Thursday night. That’s what we want.

“We want to take it in the trenches and play some real tough stuff.

“So we’ll see which side responds best to it.”

Cunningham also wants to see his team make a positive start to the game, and not give themselves the task of playing ‘catch-up rugby’.

“This week we’ve got to start big,” he added.

“We’ve got to lay a platform, and let Cas know what we want to do for the game.

“If Cas get a feel for the game that we’re going to play a bit soft, then they’ll enjoy themselves.”