Sean Long warns fans not to expect perfection from Featherstone Rovers against Castleford Tigers

Featherstone Rovers well and truly begin their assault on Super League promotion tomorrow.

On the eve of 2023 after a disappointing 2022, the Rovers take on rivals Castleford Tigers as they prepare for a new season and another attempt at promotion this time under new boss and former Leeds Rhinos assistant Sean Long.

Speaking on the Rovers’ Twitter page, Long has reflected on pre-season as a whole going into the festive derby:

“It has gone really well, we have had five or six weeks of really hard training building into it really well.

“We have put some systems together and building some new combinations getting our attacking systems together. Boys are really enjoying it, they had some time over Christmas. We’ve just done captain’s run now and they’re looking forward to the game tomorrow.”

But what is he expecting from tomorrow’s game?

Long has said that he is not expecting things to be perfect in the club’s first game in preparation for 2023:

“I’m expecting hard work, a lot of hard work. It’s not going to be plain sailing in the first trial game I don’t think.

“We have only done team on team once, we’re just looking forward to our combinations getting better, six, seven, nine and one. We just want a bit of continuity and cohesion in that.

“Once we get that, we’ll be fine.

“Like I say, I’m not expecting it to be perfect tomorrow. It’ll be a good game.”