Castleford Tigers coach delivers recruitment update and hints at more new signings
Castleford Tigers head coach Craig Lingard
Castleford Tigers head coach Craig Lingard insists more signings will be on their way to the Mend-A-Hose Jungle for 2025, stating they’re having ‘loads of conversations’ with potential recruits.
The Tigers announced the signing of Parramatta Eels outside back Zac Cini on a two-year-deal from next season, but Lingard feels he isn’t the only new face joining his squad for 2025.
“We’re having loads of conversations,” Lingard told the media. “Anyone who’s done anything recruitment-wise knows it’s very difficult this time of year where you’re speaking to players and agents but you know other clubs are speaking to them as well so these conversations change on a daily basis.”
“We’re working hard behind the scenes, and the number that we’ve been speaking too these names haven’t come out in the media; and that to me shows we’re doing it the right way and keeping it in-house. We’re working every single day and we’re having loads of conversations.”
Positions?
Cini is certainly the right position for the Fords, as they were in desperate need of a centre in 2025 with Corey Hall leaving the club; but they are still in need of some depth in other areas.
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The front-row has been a particular issue for Castleford this season, as has half-back with current halves Jacob Miller and Rowan Milnes coming under fire, and Lingard disclosed he was looking to recruit in these three areas.
“We’re looking at middles, we want to get a couple more middles in. We’ve also only got two senior half-backs at the club so we’re looking to bring a half-back in.
Given their injury crisis in other positions, namely front-row and centre, the back-row has been fairly makeshift too, and Lingard touched on this also being an area of interest with regards to recruitment.
“There’s different positions too, we could potentially need a back-rower,” he said. and there’s one or two little positions which can be impacted by whether people depending if they stay or they go, so that’s constantly moving.”
“Each potential signing will be affected by another signing that we do as well. As I say, we’ve got a lot of people that we’re talking to, a lot of irons in the fire that we’re discussing and each one that we bring in will impact on the next person that comes in.”
Tapping into NRL reserve grade
Castleford Tigers have dipped into the NRL reserve grade a lot in the past. Daniel Hindmarsh-Takyi, Sylvester Namo, Nixon Putt, Elie El-Zakhem and Josh Simm all joined the club from either the NSW or QLD Cup this year, and in the past Liam Horne and Charbel Tasipale has also come to the Jungle via this route.
Given the financial budget at Castleford, this could again be a good tactic to bring overseas talent to the club, but Lingard told the media he will look at ‘all options’ for the right player.
“We’re looking at all options. We’re looking at people who’ve played a lot of NRL first grade, we’re looking at people who’ve played a handful of games and then also looking at people who are in the train-on squad who haven’t played a lot of first grade rugby as yet; so we’re looking at all avenues.”
“We know the people that are out there, because the agents are letting us know; but they’re letting every other club know too. We’re speaking to people but we’re aware clubs in the NRL and the UK are speaking to these people so it is difficult to get people over the line; but it’s not through lack of trying.”
Not rushing into things
There is growing unrest amongst Castleford Tigers fans with the club’s lack of signings; but Lingard believes the wait is worth it to get the ‘right’ player.
“We’re certainly not panicking, we’re not looking to get our recruitment done this week. The worst thing you can do is ‘we’ve only signed one person’, but the worst thing we can do is go out and just sign three or four people just to appease people. We’ve got to make sure the business we do is correct and right for us.”
“Getting the right player is massive. We’re not rushing out there and just bringing people in to tick a box, it’s got to be right for us and the right reasons why people are coming to Castleford Tigers.”
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