Jacques O’Neill signs new two-year deal at Castleford

Castleford Tigers have announced that academy product Jacques O’Neill has signed a two-year contract extension, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2023 season. 

The 22-year-old is a product of the Tigers youth system, coming through both the Scholarship and Academy programmes before making his senior Super League debut in 2019.

Despite 2021 being an injury-hit year for the Cumbrian, he was still included in the latest England Knights squad alongside team-mates Danny Richardson and Jake Trueman.

O’Neill expressed his delight at the prospect of linking up with incoming Tigers coach Lee Radford, who he has long admired for his no-nonsense style of play, and is hopeful that the former Hull FC boss will take his game to “another level”.

“I’m over the moon to stay at Cas,” he said. “I’ve been here since I was 15/16 and it has a place in my heart now.

“I wasn’t really looking to go anywhere else. I’m happy here and I want to keep progressing in my career here.”

New Castleford boss Radford added: “I like him, he is just full of energy. Jacques is definitely someone that I am excited to coach because I think there is so much improvement in him as well.

“[He is] a type of player that the club needs around, especially in that position as well. It excites me that he is still young, and there are areas of his game where he can get better at, and hopefully we can get the best out of him.”

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