Liam Watts 28/1 for Man of the Match!? – Tasty bets for Hull FC vs Castleford Tigers

Castleford travel to Hull tonight to kick-off a bumper weekend of live rugby league. These sides had mixed emotions last week, the Tigers had a comfortable win over Catalans whilst Hull lost to a last minute try at Hull KR.

Super League sponsors Betfred make Castleford 4/7 favourites to win this, though 8/11 is available elsewhere, with the hosts 6/4. Daryl Powell’s men look worthy favourites and there was a big gap between these two last year. FC are also still short of numbers with their injury list already mounting up.

After top four finishes in the last two seasons, Cas showed last week they have what it takes to reach the play-offs again and I think they can win this by 6-10 point. The Tigers have to concede a 4-point start on the handicap and I think they are capable of covering that. Obviously though it is early in the season so bear that in mind.

Lee Radford’s side are now on a 12-game losing streak but they did look like they had improved  last week , after a disastrous end to 2018, but they may just find the Tigers too strong. They will improve though as players start to come back. Jake Connor returns after his ban for this one.

Greg Eden looks hard to oppose at 7/1 to score the first try but James Clare is possibly better value at 12/1. The returning Jake Connor looks good value at 12/5 to score a try anytime in the game.

It looks like Sky have ditched the awful fan vote for Man of the Match so there could be value again there now. Paul McShane makes Castleford tick from dummy half and would be my choice at 13/2. As for the black and whites, this game could be all about the return of Connor and I would just favour him at 7/1 over Danny Houghton at 8/1. Liam Watts was immense for Cas last week and 28/1 is far too big for him against his old club, if you like big prices!

We’ll be back with a look at Leeds trip to Wigan tomorrow. As always, please gamble responsibly.