Paul McShane named new Castleford captain
Former Man of Steel Paul McShane has taken over the captaincy role at Castleford from the recently retired Michael Shenton ahead of the 2022 season.
The 32-year-old has made more than 300 career appearances, with 169 of them coming in Castleford colours since joining the club in 2015 from rivals Wakefield.
McShane, who enters his eighth season with the Tigers in 2022, started at hooker in both of England’s matches in 2021.
He said: “When I spoke to my wife she said ‘you don’t understand how big of a deal it is’. But for me, I’m just going out and playing rugby with a bunch of blokes that I’ve got a lot of respect for at a club I love playing for. For me, it is something I am going to love doing week in and week out.
“We have a great core of senior blokes here, but not just the senior blokes too. I think everyone in the squad are here to do a job and love playing for the club. I think it’s not going to be too hard to direct these fellas about.
“There is a connection, I just love coming to work every day driving down the main road and you see a Cas shirt – there is nothing better than playing in front of these fans. Win or lose they are supporting you. It wasn’t that good when I was playing against Cas, but even then, I loved coming and playing here.”
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Paul McShane pays tribute to former skipper Michael Shenton
McShane paid tribute to Castleford legend Shenton, who was captain of the Tigers before hanging up his boots at the end of last season.
He continued: “Shenny is probably the captain that I have got on with most and who got the best out of me. When I first came to Cas, he kind of put an arm around me. For me it is probably about learning from the stuff Shenny did when I first came in, and trying to keep the stuff that he built within this group.
“I’ll probably stick to what I’ve been doing, I’ve kind of had that leadership role for a couple of years now. I just know that I’m going to give it my all.”
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Castleford coach Lee Radford said: “It was an easy decision I think, his leadership qualities on the field are there to see for everyone and I think there is some development there as well in his leadership off the field as well.
“He does the right things as a footballer, and the blokes have got so much respect for him around the place.
“He has all the qualities you would want in a senior bloke on the field. I think he’s tough, smart, and has a never say die attitude which helps. For that reason, the opposition respects him and his own team-mates love being alongside him. I think he’s going to be a success in that role.”
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