Kenny Edwards signs three-year deal to stay at Castleford until 2025
Back-rower Kenny Edwards has put pen to paper on a new three-year contract with Castleford. He will remain a Tiger until at least 2025.
New Zealand-born Edwards is currently on loan at the Jungle from fellow Super League club Huddersfield.
The 32-year-old had been in talks about a return home to Australia and the NRL with Paramatta Eels. Having finalised his deal to stay in Yorkshire however, he couldn’t be happier.
Kenny Edwards remains a Ford
“Paramatta was my home. It’s all that I’d known and when I left there, it wasn’t on the best terms because I’d made a mistake and had to move on at that time,” said Edwards.
“It was hard for me to move on mentally because I did think that was my home and since then, I’ve struggled to find somewhere where I belong.
“I spent a couple of years at Catalans and then I was at Huddersfield, but I feel now Castleford is home to me. It’s where I belong.
“I’ve only been here half a year, but I think I’ve been playing the best football of my whole career. I haven’t felt this way since I left Paramatta, I’ve been searching for it, and now I’ve found it.
“There were other factors [in my decision to stay] of course, but that was probably the main thing.”
Edwards spent five and a half years with the Eels down under, playing 70 times. He then re-located to the south of France in 2018, signing for Catalans.
Winning the 2018 Challenge Cup with the Dragons, Edwards then departed for Huddersfield in 2020. The back-rower has made just 29 appearances for the Giants since however, and was loaned out to Castleford ahead of this season.
History In The Making
Opting to remain at the Tigers, Edwards is keen to make more history. He added, “Cas won the League Leaders’ Shield once [in 2017], but couldn’t kick on and win the Grand Final.
“I was part of the first team to win silverware at Catalans when we won the Challenge Cup. That feeling of doing something special as a team and being the first ones to do it for a club is always special.
“I always hold that moment at Wembley close to my heart and seeing how proud the fans were when we did it, it’s something I’d love to do again here at Castleford.
“I’d love to be a part of the ‘new Cas era’ as cliché as that is. The fans here are great. They’ve been outstanding, really getting behind me and the team. It’s great to have them backing us.”
Also representing the Combined Nations for the last two years, Edwards has most definitely won over the Fords faithful.
Convincing his wife to stay in England wasn’t as easy, though her business as a Spiral Practitioner helped.
“She wasn’t too happy a few weeks back when I first floated the idea of staying here, because we’d already talked about going back home [to Australia].
“She didn’t talk to me for about two weeks to be honest! The sun’s out here now though, her business is flourishing, and that’s made it a bit easier for me. The tough part of us now is telling our kids.”
Boosted by the addition of Alex Mellor this week, Castleford welcome Edwards’ former club Catalans on Sunday.
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