Friday’s live fixture (Sky Sports 1 20:00) has the Bulls hosting the Castleford Tigers at the Grattan Stadium. Two games in and the Bulls sit rock bottom of Super League after a comprehensive defeat last weekend to St Helens. Steve McNamara’s team looked seriously off the pace, missing numerous tackles and failing to apply any pressure of any kind. Saving their blushes was Matt Orford who scored and converted in the last minute.
Last year this encounter was a high scoring one, Bradford narrowly lost 38-40 which saw 7 tries scored for each team. It is unlikely we will see the same again; if the past two games are anything to go by then Bradford may be up against it from the start. They have the worst offensive attacking record of the season so far (granted we are only 2 games in to the new season), and a goal difference of -44 which any manager would be disappointed to see.
Castleford were unlucky to lose to Warrington last week (Puntinplay followers grateful for the Warrington -6 given as a winning prediction) as they led 3 times in that game. They have a very creditable record away from home; last year they only lost 5, and the 9/5 (Sporting Bet) available on Castleford winning the match outright is where the value may lie. Loose Forward Joe Westerman (scored 2 tries already this season) could open the scoring and is 25/1 (Ladbrokes) to do so. A Castleford try is 7/5 (Sporting Bet) to be the first scoring play.
