Coach Danny McGuire has urged one of Castleford Tigers’ star players to send him an ‘up yours’ message.
McGuire confirmed hooker/loose-forward Liam Hone will return to Tigers’ 17 for Saturday’s home clash with Leigh Leopards, after being dropped when Castleford lost to Hull FC at the Jungle two weeks ago.
Now the coach says it’s Horne’s chance to prove that was a mistake. “He will play,” McGuire revealed. “I’d love him to send an ‘up yours’ to me to say I made the wrong decision with how he performs on Saturday. I’m sure he’ll do that and give a committed performance.”
Explaining why Horne was left out, McGuire insisted: “He has been a really good player for the club, he brings energy, he has a great attitude and he’s great to coach, but I think some of his areas were a bit loose from the start of the season.
“He has had some good moments, but some stuff he needed to go away and work on and tidy up. He has done that, he has got his head down and been really good building up to this game. There’s always setbacks and hurdles to overcome and the better players handle them and learn from them.”
Danny McGuire on Castleford Tigers injuries
Tigers will face Leigh without prop Brad Singleton and McGuire revealed: “He has got a foot injury, he did it in the Hull game and played through it. He has had a scan and it could potentially be between two and four weeks.
“He won’t play this week, but he is out of the boot and says he feels a lot better, so he has potentially got an outside chance for Wakefield [next Thursday]. If not, I’ll be hoping for the week after that.”
Lee Kershaw, signed this week for a second spell on loan from Hull KR, will come straight into Tigers’ side in place of Innes Senior, who is suspended. “Kersh knows the players and knows the systems and what we expect, so he will fit in there,” McGuire said.
Another winger, Jason Qareqare, has been named in the initial 21, but won’t play. He has been sidelined with a hamstring issue and the coach said: “He is not far off and he is our player. At some point we want to get him back in there and get him up to speed. There’s a good chance he could play next week against Wakefield.”
