Lee Crooks wants his ex-club to oust Leeds Rhinos from Challenge Cup
Lee Crooks, a big name in Castleford Tigers' history, has asked his ex-franchise to put a stop to Leeds Rhinos’ run into the Carnegie Challenge Cup, on Sunday, August 7, when the showdown to book a spot for the final at Wembley will take place at the Doncaster’s
Keepmoat Stadium.
There is air of uncertainty with regards to Rangi Chase inclusion into Sunday night’s clash. He may not be able to make it back for the big game, due to his ongoing legal problems related to the charge of Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH) in Australia. Although
there are no statements confirming the reason of the case, speculations are that the case is about an incident which took place in November 2008, before he joined the Tigers.
Despite not knowing it for sure, Matterson has named Chase in his 19-man squad because it cannot be ascertained whether he will be able to make it back in time or not. Chase’s inclusion will make Tigers quest for the Challenge Cup easier as he exhibits performance
at par with excellence in his attacking side.
Tigers’ outfit under the flagship of Danny Orr, is nonetheless a constellation of stars which are going to perform well with or without Chase. According to Crooks, Orr presence has helped Chase in concentrating more on his game. Orr masters the knack of
disciplining his outfit which paves out way for Rangi to do his bit perfectly.
Appreciating the performance shown by Chase, Luke acknowledged that he reaches combinations in the field which can be achieved by only legendary players. Also, he believes that Chase will achieve a distinguished stature of success in years to follow.
While commenting on the hype created with the arrival of the Challenge Cup final, Crooks added, “The town of Castleford is absolutely buzzing at the moment. This game has really got a grip of everybody. It’s been a long time since Castleford have been in
a major semi final, and now they’re only 80 minutes away from Wembley. Castleford have got to play well and play to the maximum of their ability to have a chance of beating Leeds, but one thing that goes in their favour is that they just keep battling.”
Crooks has also served his two years at Leeds and is well aware of the extent of contention between the semi-finalists of the Challenge Cup, which further adds to the thrill of the Sunday’s clash.
The clash could not get better than that as there is rivalry of the two clubs, coupled with the air of uncertainty about Chase, which adds on to the excitement on either sides.
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