Lee Radford warns Castleford not to be complacent against youthful Saints
Castleford coach Lee Radford says his side will look to dampen the enthusiasm of the young St Helens players on Friday night.
St Helens coach Kristian Woolf could have debuts to nine players for their trip to Castleford this week following a busy Easter period, which saw them beat Wigan and Huddersfield.
The average of Saints’ squad for Friday is under the age of 22, compared to Castleford’s average age of 28.
But Radford has warned his players that they can’t get complacent when they face the young Saints.
He said: “We’ve just to try and dampen their enthusiasm tomorrow.
“It is terrifying when you see a squad named like that because the natural thing to do is show complacency so we’ve just got to make sure we are bang on tomorrow.
“It is all about us tomorrow and getting the improvement in those areas that spoke about. We want want to pick up as many wins as we possibly can.”
Lee Radford confirms Niall Evalds injury blow
Radford confirmed that full-back Niall Evalds will go for a scan next week after suffering a bicep injury.
He said: “Niall done his bicep, going for a scan into next week so we will know a little bit more then.
“We will just need to see how severe that is. There are some you can play with and without. Pain isn’t high and strength is still there which is a positive note.”
Wingers Greg Eden or James Clare are expected to fill in at full-back in the absence of Evalds.
Meanwhile, Woolf is relishing the fact that his youthful side are going up against a strong Castleford outfit.
He said: “It’s great that we’re playing against a full-strength Cas side because it means that we get a real opportunity to see how some of these younger guys hold up. They’re getting a real opportunity.
“The older players (Kyle Amor, Louie McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Jack Welsby) know what being a Saints player looks like. They’re going to have to set an example for the young guys.”
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