Leeds Rhinos still chasing 2nd-placed Wigan Warriors but star issues Castleford Tigers derby warning

With six rounds remaining, Rhinos are fifth in Betfred Super League, one point behind third-place Leigh Leopards. They are level with St Helens in fourth and six ahead of Wakefield Trinity, who are seventh.

Top spot is realistically out of reach, with Hull KR six points in front, but other places from second to seventh are wide open. Last Thursday’s victory at Leigh kept Rhinos in contention for a home semi-final and O’Connor insisted: “We have got a big focus on the last seven games and it was exactly what we needed.

“We know how good Leigh are and that was a big game because they are now one point ahead of us. We are fighting for second spot and hopefully we have still got a good chance of getting there. We know every point counts, especially against teams around our position.”

Leeds visit Wigan, who play host to the table-topping Robins on Friday, in the final round of the regular season and O’Connor reckons last year’s champions are catchable. He noted: “They have had a few dips lately and there’s a lot of teams firing at the minute. A lot of the teams they’ve still got to play will be going after them; all we can do is keep focussing on our games, but there’s definitely a chance to get that second spot.

“There’s still a few errors in our game we need to cut out, but we know what we can do with the ball. Coming out of our own half we can either go through teams or around them, which is a really big asset to have.”

Saturday’s trip to Castleford is a different type of challenge. With Tigers a lowly 10th in the table and having beaten them twice earlier in the season, it is one Leeds will be expected to win, but the hosts regularly raise their level against Rhinos and O’Connor predicted: “It’ll be a huge game.

“Obviously it is a lot easier to get up for the so-called bigger games, but Cas always play well against Leeds and it is always a tough battle, no matter where each team is in the table. We will be up for it and treating it like any other game.”

The derby at newly-named OneBore Stadium is Rhinos’ first fixture since Brad Arthur confirmed he will stay on as coach next season and O’Connor - whose nine-day-old son Ruairi was at last week’s win - is delighted to be playing under the Aussie for at least another 12 months. “What he has done since he came to the club is exactly what we need,” he said.

“We’re all definitely grateful. I think defensively he has tightened us up; we defend as a team and back our defence in every situation. That’s the most exciting thing going forward because we know we can keep teams out and that goes a long way to winning games.”