Castleford Tigers’ newest signing ‘doesn’t stand out’ in Australia; has Super League point to prove
Castleford Tigers' new recruit Zac Cini pictured during an NRL game in 2021
Sometimes in life, the first time is the best time.
That was certainly the case for Zac Cini, who is set to swap Western Sydney for West Yorkshire, linking up with Castleford for 2025.
His NRL debut will go down as one of the most memorable of recent years, not least because it changed the way that players looked at debuts.
Now, every player that makes a first grade bow – or, indeed, lots that celebrate 100 or 200 game milestones – will be accompanied by a coterie of family and friends, often wearing t-shirts with the player’s face on it.
Broadly, it’s very cute and should be encouraged. Mavrik Geyer put on two buses to his Penrith bow, including his famous father Mark and famous uncle Greg Alexander.
Matt Arthur’s Parramatta premiere saw Brad Arthur in with the crowd mere weeks after he’d been sacked by the Eels, hood up over his head but obligatory t-shirt over the top.
It’s a rite of passage for budding players, and it started with Cini.
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Picture the scene: a sunny afternoon in Wollongong between the Dragons and Tigers, a blonde, mulletted winger so pale that it looked like WIN Stadium was the closest he’d ever been to a beach, accompanied by 50 of his mates who’d been on the drink since breakfast.
Boyhood Tigers fan Cini, a late call-up to the squad, crossed for a second half try right in front of his cheer squad to deliver an unlikely victory. It was poetic, hilarious and genuinely heart-warming.
Unfortunately for the man at the centre of it, then just 21, it couldn’t last. A week later on home turf in Campbelltown, he had a shocker in defeat to the Gold Coast Titans and was dropped from first grade.
Cini got another two games later in 2021 when the Tigers were already done for the year and, as far as NRL experience goes, that was it.
He moved to Parramatta in 2022 and is now in his third season under Jordan Rankin in their NSW Cup team, but despite the Eels having a dearth of outside backs for much of that time, Cini hasn’t got a sniff of the NRL again.
Given this record, it’s quite surprising that Cas have decided to pick him up.
At no point has Cini ever looked anything other than a reserve grader, and while Super League is not as good as the NRL, it is a lot better than the NSW Cup.
Now 24, it is reasonable to suggest that Cini is about as good as he’s ever going to be. It’s not that he’s dreadful, more that he’s not that big, not that fast, not preternaturally skillful and not an exceptional defender. He’s fine, but little more.
He doesn’t stand out in NSW Cup and clearly, based on years of evidence from both West Tigers and Parramatta coaches – currently last and second last in the NRL ladder – he’s not going to make it in the top grade.
Castleford will have done their due diligence on the player and will know what Australia-based talent is available to them.
If they have asked the question of the likes of Clayton Faulalo, Valynce Te Whare, Morgan Harper and James Schiller, all off contract in 2024, then that’s fine. Cini might work.
Then again, there’s been little to suggest he’s any better than players in the UK, which begs the question of why Cas would go to such an extent of adding Cini.
Hull FC have been burned by adding players with better NRL records than Cini, with Jayden Okunbor and Franklin Pele bombed out to Bradford before the end of their first season. For what it’s worth, both looked far better in NSW Cup than Cini.
Then again, they trade in spectacular and he trades in consistent. That might suit Cas. But the question will remain over whether they could have got more bang for their buck elsewhere.
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