The Liam Farrell Column: Sam's starting to shine

Cas’ put some real pressure on him last Thursday and he took it in his stride. He makes things look easy at times.

He adds a lot of talk, and our attack against Castleford last week looked so much smoother.

We were pleased with our 33-26 win. Apart from Catalans, it’s probably the toughest away ground to go to.

I watched the game from the stands and it was a great experience - you notice just how vocal the fans are!

There could be nothing going on and you’d be convinced there should be a penalty for offside, just because they shout so loud!

It must be really hard for the referee.

I know Daryl Powell took issue with Ben Thaler afterwards, with the way he spoke to some of his players. I’m not sure what went on but I know we’ve never had a problem with Ben.

Maybe the Cas’ players were getting quite annoyed at some of the calls, and I’m not going to lie, I can lose my head over decisions. But you have to bite your lip at times, which can be easier said than done.

Refereeing is a tough job. I watched one of my mates, Jack Smith, ref one of the Summer Bash games at the weekend and hopefully it’s not long before we see him in Super League.

Would he be daunted by the step up? I doubt it - he’s an ex-Royal Marine Commando!

I can finally see the finish line in sight in my recovery from a rib injury.

I’m going to need an operation, which will rule me out for six to eight weeks.

It’s disappointing to miss a chunk of the season but I’ve been quite fortunate throughout my career, this is the first major injury I’ve had and at least I should be playing again this year.

The specialist has explained it all to me and doesn’t expect any problems once the procedure has been done.

And the pleasing thing is I can see the finish line - the last few weeks have been so frustrating, not knowing how long I’ll be out for.

I’m a massive State of Origin fan - they must be unbelievable games to be a part of.

I’ve long been a New South Wales fan. I’m not sure why - maybe just because they were the underdogs, when Queensland kept winning everything!

The Blues didn’t get off to the best start, going down 6-4 yesterday. I’m hoping they can turn it around in game two.

Liam Farrell was speaking to Phil Wilkinson