Castleford forward Daniel Smith has proven an asset to the Tigers in more ways than one, leading to his head coach jokingly giving him a nickname; watch the derby clash between Castleford and Wakefield live on Sky Sports Arena from 7.30pm on Friday (8pm kick-off)
By Marc Bazeley
Last Updated: 29/07/22 12:10am
Daniel Smith’s ball-playing ability has proven a huge asset in Castleford’s pack
Lee Radford may only be joking when he refers to Daniel Smith as ‘Young Crooksy’, but there is no doubt the forward’s ability on the ball is a huge asset to Castleford Tigers.
Smith has acquired the nickname as a homage to Castleford and Hull FC great Lee Crooks, with the former Great Britain international being renowned for his intelligent ball-playing ability along with doing the often-unglamorous work in the pack during a 17-year career.
To underline that, the 29-year-old Smith provided a try assist and came up with an offload while covering 102 metres and making 30 tackles off the interchange bench in the Tigers’ 46-18 win over Radford’s old club Hull FC last week.
And he is happy to bring an extra dimension to Castleford’s pack, even if the head coach has only dubbed him with his moniker in jest.
“He says it now and again when I pass in training,” Smith said. “It’s just a little joke, so it’s all good.
“I’m pretty happy [with how I’m playing]. I had a little bit of a blip mid-season where I wasn’t playing as well.
“But the last couple of weeks I feel like I’m really getting back to my best and hopefully I can build on the Hull game and keep playing as well as I can.”
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Highlights of the Betfred Super League match between Hull FC and Castleford Tigers
Given his prowess on the ball, it is perhaps a something of a surprise Radford has not turned to Smith to help fill the void in the halves left by Jake Trueman’s season-ending injury and Gareth O’Brien being out again due to suffering a head injury away to Hull FC last week, although the man himself will not be putting his hand up for that (“I reckon I’m smart enough, just not quick enough!” Smith joked).
Instead, that responsibility has fallen to winger Greg Eden and he is set to resume the role when Castleford welcome local rivals Wakefield Trinity to the Mend-A-Hose Jungle for Friday’s derby, live on Sky Sports, while fellow wide man Jason Qareqare could remain at the other injury-hit position of full-back.
“Stand-off, Greg has done a really good job for us and is looking more like a stand-off every week,” Radford said.
“At full-back, Jason Qareqare played there for us last week, so we’ve got options and those blokes are two top players as well. They are conundrums, but there are opportunities for those two.”
Daniel Smith spent two seasons playing for Wakefield
The derby is a potentially pivotal game for both clubs, with Castleford aiming to take a step closer to securing a place in the Betfred Super League play-offs and Wakefield desperately searching for a win to help in their battle to avoid relegation.
Smith has experienced these matches from both sides after spending the 2014 and 2015 seasons with Trinity and although he is sympathetic to his former club’s plight, the Pontefract-born, Castleford-raised middle forward knows just how big this game is to rugby league fans in the area.
“It is with me because I’m from Castleford and when we play in these games, it means a lot to beat Wakefield even though in the past I played for them,” Smith said. “It’s a big thing for me and hopefully we can win.
“Everyone is passionate about playing in them, so they’re really tough games and I’m looking forward to it.
“Obviously it’s not nice being at the bottom of the table, but I know they’ve got a few good players and hopefully they can pull together and get a few wins before the end of the season.”
Castleford are on a run of 17 derby matches without defeat against Wakefield and extending that to 18 would keep them within touching distance of the top four in Super League with six rounds of regular season matches remaining.
A 34-4 win at Be Well Support Stadium in April’s Rivals Round ensured the Tigers continued that dominance against Trinity and Radford, who played for Bradford Bulls at the height of their rivalry with Leeds Rhinos and for Hull FC against Hull Kingston Rovers, knows just how much this one means too.
“I think I’ve got a decent record in derbies anyway – I think my record was outstanding against Hull KR as well,” Radford, winner of 10 of 16 Hull Derbies as Black and Whites head coach, said with a laugh. “You never want to lose a derby, that’s a given, and this Friday is obviously no different.
Castleford Tigers vs Wakefield Trinity
July 29, 2022, 7:30pm
Live on 
“It was different to what I’ve been used to in terms of derbies, whether that be Bradford-Leeds or Hull FC-Rovers. It’s different in terms of the size and scale of it, but it’s still just as important to get the result.
“I thought our last performance was a derby performance; we strangled them in possession last time and that first period in particular was really strong, so we’re going to have to try to do that again.”