Smith focused on Wolves performance against tough Tigers

Tony Smith is expecting a confident Castleford team to give his Warrington side a tough test on Friday evening.

Daryl Powell’s Tigers will arrive at Warrington on the back of fine win over Widnes in last week’s Challenge Cup semi-final.

Smith feels that whatever personnel Powell picks, Cas will be a testing proposition for his Wolves.

“I’m not too bothered which way they go [in terms of selection], we’re preparing for a tough game,” he said.

“They’re a good team, and they’ve got a lot of depth in their club this year. They’re going to put out a strong team, whichever team they put out.

“They can score points, and they showed that against us earlier this year.

“We need to be at our best. We need to bounce back in terms of performance, and get in there and compete a whole lot better, particularly early in the match, and give ourselves a platform to build on.

“They’re currently sitting two points above us, and I’m sure they’ll be trying to protect that buffer.”

Smith insists that the manner of his team’s display is always more important to him than actually winning a game.

“It’s always performance for me,” he said.

“If you perform well, it gives you a chance to win the game. The winning is secondary for me, and the team.

“We know that if we perform well that gives us our best chance of winning, so that’s always the focus.

“Nothing changes in that respect. We’re going out there to perform well and if we do that, we can walk off the field with heads held high.”