Castleford forward Callum Bustin makes permanent move to Bradford

Castleford have released front-rower Callum Bustin for him to join Bradford permanently on an 18-month contract.

The young front-rower joined the Bulls on loan from the Tigers at the start of the year and has gone on to play 13 games, scoring four tries.

Bustin quickly became a fan favourite at Odsal and Bradford coach John Kear is made up to have Bustin’s move made permanent.

He said: “Castleford have been great with us, we have agreed terms with Callum for next year and part of that agreement is that he is released from Castleford, so he becomes our players for 18 months.

“We have got a really good relationship with Jon Wells and Daryl Powell and I would like to thank them for their help with James Green and Callum.

“He is young, raw and an emerging prospect, but he is also 119kg, so he is big. He’ll benefit from James Green being here, just as he looks up to Steve Crossley, as a sort of mentor and leader, as all of the forward pack do.

“It’s part of the management of the playing group, Stuart Duffy makes sure that we abide by the strict rules and he’s very good at knowing the RFL by-laws.

“A big plus point is that Callum is no longer on loan. He is a Bradford Bulls player, therefore it opens up a further opportunity for someone else should we require that.”