Cut Adam Milner in half – metaphorically – and he would bleed black and amber.
Having come through the Castleford Tigers academy all the way to the first-team, Milner has become part of the furniture at the Jungle.
But, after spending over a decade at the club, the hooker-turned-loose-forward has revealed 2021 was the year in which he came the closest to leaving Castleford after offers from two other Super League sides.
“There was interest from the start of the season and I received an offer from Wakefield mid-season and also from Hull KR,” Milner told Serious About Rugby League.
“Having been at Cas for over ten years it’s probably the closest I’ve been to leaving.
“I felt like it might have been a good time for a change and fresh start elsewhere to benefit me personally.
“However, with Lee Radford coming in I’m hoping it’ll have the same effect. On top of that, the rest of Cas’ recruitment has been great.”
For Milner and the Tigers, 2021 was a disappointing season as the club finished in seventh with 11 wins from 23 games, and the 29-year-old was brutally honest about why that was.
“It was another challenging year for the club in terms of injuries, COVID etc and the scheduling of the fixtures playing most games on short turnarounds every four or five days made it exceptionally tough for players.
“Overall I’d say my season was okay probably 6/10 – my best performances were probably the Challenge Cup semi-final and then the final few games of the season which I think I got man-of-the-match in three out of four games.
“So I will be looking to take the form of the back end of the year into next and making bigger contributions to games.
“I’m hoping Radford can give me that fresh start and get back to the form of 2017/2018 which gained international honours for me.”
