Huddersfield Giants and Castleford Tigers are two sides that are looking to get off the mark in 2026, with both clubs yet to win in Super League.
The West Yorkshire duo are both 0-2 in the league so far, and after disappointing years in 2025, were looking for improvement, but that is yet to happen.
Huddersfield were rocked by injuries throughout the whole of last season, and despite looking good in pre-season, they have racked up a huge injury list already, with the majority of those that are sidelined being key players.
Castleford started last year with Danny McGuire in charge, but he only lasted 17 games before Chris Chester took over. Ryan Carr is now at the helm, in what was set to be a new era for the club, however the early performances have shown that there is still plenty of work to be done at the OneBore Stadium.
The two will face off on Sky Sports on Friday night, and ahead of the 21-man squads being announced later today, there is already some early team news with a number of players ruled out of action.
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Early Castleford Tigers v Huddersfield Giants team news
Starting with the hosts, the key blow for them is that star full-back Blake Taaffe will miss the rest of 2026 after rupturing his ACL.
Also in the injury room is fellow recruit Brock Greacen, who picked up a knock in training before round one, and is yet to return to the side.
The good news for the club is that Jack Ashworth has completed his seven-match ban that he picked up whilst at Hull FC, and could make his debut for the club this week.
Zac Cini and Semi Valemei are still recovering from soft tissue injuries and will be managed on a week-to-week basis, whilst Louis Senior is ruled out for the foreseeable with a syndesmosis injury.
Huddersfield’s injury list contains four players in their first 13 squad numbers. Niall Evalds, Adam Swift and Adam Clune will all be missing for the next five weeks according to boss Luke Robinson, whilst Liam Sutcliffe is looking at another three months on the sidelines.
Harry Rushton and Joe Greenwood will be missing for around nine weeks, in what is a huge blow for the Claret and Gold.
To make matters worse, back rower Sam Hewitt has picked up a one-match ban, so will miss this week’s tie with the Tigers.
