Leeds Rhinos and Castleford Tigers in different places ahead of play-off shootout

The Rhinos had the chance to secure their play-off spot in Perpignan only to suffer their first defeat in seven Super League games to give Castleford a lifeline.

Lee Radford's side had earlier gone down 50-10 to Salford Red Devils in their final home game of the 2022 season.

The results confirmed Salford's place in the play-offs, leaving Leeds and Castleford to battle it out for the remaining spot on the final day.

Rohan Smith struck an upbeat tone following the defeat in the south of France after getting the Rhinos into a position that appeared out of reach when he was appointed in April.

"There's more in the outcome this week but the process isn't going to shift a lot," said Smith.

"It's been week by week all the time. Now there's no point even looking at the table because everyone knows it's us and Cas, winner takes all.

"How good for the competition in general and we're excited to have that opportunity to do it.

"If you'd said four months ago we'd be playing for a play-off spot round 27 at home, you'd have jumped all over that.

"It's another level up because you know it's your last chance to get the result but to a point, we've been playing for weeks like that.

"We won six in a row so we've been playing on the edge for months so there's no need to crank it up too much.

"We'll go about trying to have a more polished performance on Saturday."

Smith was forced into several changes in the south of France and his patched-up side went in 28-6 behind at the break.

The Rhinos rallied in the second half but there would be no repeat of last month's sensational comeback as Catalans saw out a 32-18 win.

While the result did not go Leeds' way, they left Perpignan relatively unscathed.

"We've had two five-day turnarounds so everyone is in the same bracket but I don't think there is anything significant," said Smith.

"Nobody came off injured and Brad (Dwyer) passed his HIA so he'll be OK. Nothing else comes to mind."

Radford, meanwhile, has been left doubting whether he can lift his players in time for Saturday's play-off shootout.

There was no way back for the depleted Tigers after falling 20-0 behind inside 13 minutes and they had the look of a beaten side as Salford racked up 50 points.

Radford cut a disconsolate figure at full-time and admitted even he would struggle to recover from a painful defeat.

"Somebody is going to have to pick me up off the canvas if we get one (a positive outcome)," said Radford ahead of the match in Perpignan.

"How we looked physically is a real issue. Two games in the amount of days we played, the lack of numbers in our squad - you could argue it's to be expected.

"My chin hit the floor with the way we started in that first 20 minutes."

Radford is resigned to being without Danny Richardson, his only fit and available half-back on Monday.

Richardson was helped from the field with a knee injury just before half-time and is highly unlikely to feature again this year.

"It doesn't look great again," said Radford.

"We might have lost another one there for a long period of time. The physio is fearing the worst."

Already without the likes of Jake Trueman and Niall Evalds, Castleford did not have the tools to threaten Salford's lead.

The Tigers comprehensively lost the energy battle and must now dig deep into their physical and mental reserves to keep their season alive.

"It was two different levels of performance," said Radford.

"I thought they were fantastic. They looked energetic, fast and played some really, really good football; we looked busted, old and tired unfortunately.

"The scoreline probably reflects that. I'm deflated and scratching my head a little bit as to how we get right for Saturday.

"We've got to try and find 17 fit players and ask them to go out and do their best."