Castleford Tigers v Widnes Vikings: Super League preview
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 09/06/16 10:41pm
Castleford winger Paddy Flynn says he will have a point to prove if he gets the chance to go up against his parent club Widnes at the Mend-a-Hose Jungle on Thursday, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7.30pm.
The 28-year-old, who scored 102 tries in 177 appearances for Widnes, says he was sacrificed by the Vikings to make way for new signing Jack Buchanan.
Because Widnes needed to free up room on their salary cap for the Australian forward, Flynn was granted his wish for a loan move and last month joined the Tigers on a deal until the end of the season.
"Denis Betts said earlier in the year he didn't want me to go out on loan because the games would come thick and fast around Easter and he wanted me to be ready," said Flynn.
"I tried to prepare myself the best I could but the opportunity didn't come - for whatever reason, I'm not sure.
"Then Alex Gerrard got injured and he said they wanted to get another player in to replace him so they had to move someone out on loan. I was that sacrifice."
Flynn, who made his debut for Daryl Powell's men in their win over Leeds at Headingley four weeks ago, is out of contract with the Vikings at the end of the season and admits he would love to make his move across the Pennines permanent.
And, after ensuring there was no clause inserted in the loan deal, Flynn is relishing the opportunity to face his old team-mates.
"I made sure before I left that I could play against Widnes when the time came and they were fine with that," said Flynn.
"They wanted to do right by me and give me a fair chance of playing every game I could to try and earn a contract for next year.
"It's early days yet but I'm liking my time here at Cas and Daryl is getting the best out of me so I wouldn't mind staying if there was an opportunity."
Dropped for last week's trip to Huddersfield after making defensive errors against Wigan the previous week, Flynn is back in Powell's 19-man squad for Thursday's game and is set to make his fourth appearance for them.
However, he will not be able to play in Castleford's Challenge Cup quarter-final against Wigan later this month after making his only Widnes appearance of 2016 in their fourth-round win over Rochdale.
"I'm a little bit frustrated at being cup-tied but that's the way things go," he said.
"We played well against Rochdale and gave them a good hiding but it wasn't enough to keep my position, so I thought going out on loan was probably my best option.
"I've definitely got a point to prove. I won't do anything different because I like to think I put every effort into every game I play. The only difference will be that I know the players better than anybody else."
Flynn has identified full-back Rhys Hanbury as the biggest threat to his new club.
"Wherever he goes, the ball goes and, with his pace, he can burn anybody off in the competition so we need to look after him," Flynn said.
"If we can keep him quiet, we give ourselves a good chance."
Castleford Tigers: Matt Cook, Ben Crooks, Luke Dorn, Paddy Flynn, Luke Gale, Lee Jewitt, Will Maher, Nathan Massey, Mike McMeeken, Paul McShane, Grant Millington, Adam Milner, Junior Moors, Joel Monaghan, Larne Patrick, Gadwin Springer, Denny Solomona, Danny Tickle, Jake Webster.
Widnes Vikings: Pat Ah Van, Chris Bridge, Kevin Brown, Jack Buchanan, Hep Cahill, Jay Chapelhow, Chris Dean, Gil Dudson, Rhys Hanbury, Aaron Heremaia, Chris Houston, Macgraff Leuluai, Manase Manuokafoa, Joe Mellor, Charly Runciman, Setaimata Sa, Corey Thompson, Lloyd White, Matt Whitley.
Watch Castleford v Widnes live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Thursday from 7.30pm. Catch the match for £6.99 with a NOW TV day pass.