Ex-Castleford Tigers forward tied down by ambitious Championship club

Ben Olawumi
Conor Fitzsimmons

York's Conor Fitzsimmons (in black, right) celebrates a try during a Challenge Cup tie in 2023

Ambitious Championship outfit York have announced that Conor Fitzsimmons has penned a new one-year deal for 2025 at the LNER Community Stadium.

Workington-born Fitzsimmons will enter a third successive season with York next term having joined them ahead of the 2023 campaign and made 53 appearances in their colours to date.

A product of Castleford’s academy, the versatile forward featured twice at first-team level for the Tigers back in 2016 – with both of those appearances coming in defeats against St Helens.

He would go on to spend a year on loan with hometown club Workington in 2017 before making a permanent return there in 2020 following a couple of seasons up in the North East with Newcastle Thunder.

Across all competitions, 26-year-old Fitzsimmons currently has a total of 175 career appearances on his CV with 31 tries scored.

LRL RECOMMENDS: Championship stalwart secures future ahead of 2025

Ex-Castleford Tigers forward Conor Fitzsimmons tied down by ambitious Championship club York

Nine of his 31 career tries to date have come in York colours, crossing the whitewash three times for Mark Applegarth’s side in a 2024 campaign which saw them reach the Championship play-off semi-finals.

The Knights were eventually beaten at Belle Vue by eventual champions Wakefield Trinity, but have already made waves in the transfer market ahead of next season with Paul McShane, Jacques O’Neill and Jacob Gannon all among their new recruits.

Having tied Fitzsimmons down for 2025, head coach Applegarth said: “I’m really happy we’ve got Fitzy over the line for next year.

“He showed glimpses of what he can do last year, and the challenge for him this year is to do it on a consistent basis and really earn that spot in the team.

“He’s a really likeable member of the squad and he trains really hard.

“He’s an absolutely fantastic bloke and I’m really looking forward to working with him again next year.”

LRL RECOMMENDS: Championship club provide update on financial situation with board ‘confident’ in future stability