Dorn wary of ace Airlie Birds
Castleford fullback Luke Dorn says Hull FC are the team to beat in Super League right now and the Tigers are up for the challenge.
Castleford travel to the KC Stadium tonight to take on the Airlie Birds. Both teams are unbeaten after two rounds of Super League.
“We’re in a decent spot. Like most teams there’s quite a lot of improvement in everybody, especially us at the moment,” Dorn told Love Rugby League.
“We’re really looking forward to this game, it’s a big game and they’re obviously the team to beat at the moment. They’re the form team, they’ve recruited really well.
“They’ve recruited players close to the peak of their careers as well. They’ve brought in guys like Frank Pritchard, Sika Manu, Minichiello, then you’ve got the likes of Tuimawave.
“They’re really starting to pull together as a team and they’re doing the right things, they’re playing to their strengths. Big strong guys and going to Catalans is no mean feat at the best of times, especially looking at the recruitment they’ve done.
“They’ve gone over there and done a job on them, so it’s going to be really big challenge for us.”
Dorn will lock horns with Hull FC playmaker Marc Sneyd tonight but admits he wishes Sneyd was still lining up alongside him and had stayed with the Tigers.
Sneyd and the Australian were two key members of the Castleford spine in 2014 that drove the club to the Challenge Cup final and within a whisker of winning of the League Leader’s Shield. The halfback exited the Jungle at the end of that season, departing for Hull FC.
Veteran Dorn knows the talent of his former teammate intimately and says Castleford will need to shut the 25-year old down to keep their undefeated run going.
“’Sneydy’s’ playing really well – disappointing as we’re coming up against him!” he joked.
“I think he was probably a little bit quiet on his own form for his own standards last year. There was a lot of pressure on him going to Hull and having to perform but I think he looks a lot more confident this year.
“He’s playing a lot more to his style and it suits him down to the ground. He’s got some really good players outside of him at the moment, he’s got a really strong edge that he’s playing with.
“He takes the right option more often than not and he’s got one of the best, if not the best, kicking game in the competition. His game’s looking very rounded.”
“I had quite a lot to do with Sneydy [when he was at Castleford], a lot of plays we did went through us so I had a lot to do with him. I didn’t know a lot about him pre-coming to us but he’s someone I really liked playing with. He was good for me.
“When you have a team that has a bit of success you don’t want to see anyone leave. You want to try and build on that. We were unfortunate we couldn’t do that, which was disappointing as a club but we moved on.
“I would have loved Sneydy to have stayed for sure and continue to play at Cas but it’s not to be. That’s the game these days, people come and go pretty frequently. It’s a shame but that’s just the way it goes.”