Castleford Tigers finally sign ex-London Broncos prop after failed swoop last year

Castleford Tigers have bolstered their squad further on the eve of the new Super League season after finally securing the services of ex-London Broncos prop Dan Hindmarsh-Takyi: having already unsuccessfully tried to bring him to the club last year.

Hindmarsh has joined Castleford from Australian Queensland Cup outfit Northern Pride on a two-year deal to hand Craig Lingard a significant boost to his ranks as he prepares for his first season in charge of the club.

However, Hindmarsh has been on the Tigers’ radar since before Lingard became head coach – with the club trying and failing to sign him last season.

Hindmarsh instead opted to take up a train and trial deal with Brisbane Broncos in a bid to earn an NRL contract, a move which ultimately did not come to fruition. He then signed for Northern Pride, but has now signed on at the Jungle to confirm his return to Super League.

The 25-year-old was part of London’s squad which narrowly failed to avoid relegation in 2019, and spent time out on loan at the likes of Sheffield Eagles and Coventry Bears – now Midlands Hurricanes – earlier in his career.

English-born, he does not count on Castleford’s overseas quota, which is already full. He said: “The players in England are hard and tough, and I want to get back to that again.

“I’ve missed home having been away for two years too. I’m excited to play for Cas, one of my old team-mates played for them and said it was a good experience.”

Castleford Tigers finally sign ex-London Broncos prop Dan Hindmarsh after failed swoop last year

Castleford’s director of rugby Danny Wilson admitted Hindmarsh’s signing comes at an opportune moment given the depth in their pack, before revealing that the 25-year-old has been on their radar for a prolonged period of time.

“When we started looking at some recruitment towards the mid to back end of last season, Daniel was a player that we identified we wanted to bring to Castleford,” Wilson said.

“He has knowledge of Super League having played with London back when he was a very young kid. He went to Australia and tested himself around the Queensland Cup, and he’s really proved himself over there to the extent that he was getting trials at NRL clubs and he was on their radar. He’s someone that we went really hard to bring in.

“He fits that mould of the type of player we want to bring in to Castleford; Young, enthusiastic and wants to achieve.

“Unfortunately we lost out when we tried at the end of the season last year. He wanted to go and take up his trial at Brisbane, but we’ve chased for him ever since and kept in communication with him.

“We’ve managed to get him over the line this weekend so we can add some more quality to our squad.”

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