Castleford have confirmed the signing of experienced prop Suaia Matagi on a one-year loan deal from Huddersfield.
The explosive Kiwi is a former New Zealand and Samoa international, and played for New Zealand Warriors, Sydney Roosters, Penrith Panthers and Parramatta Eels in the NRL before joining the Giants in 2018.
He has since gone on to make over 50 appearances in Super League, and becomes the Tigers’ second signing in two days, following Hull FC youngster Lewis Bienek to the Mend-A-Hose Jungle.
“I’m definitely excited for the new challenge and I’m looking forward to adding into the side,” Matagi told the Tigers’ official club website. “I know a few of the boys already and played against them a few times, every time we’ve played Castleford we always have some tough encounters and I know they are a tough, resilient team who always bounce back.
”Castleford is rich in history so being here and being a part of it, I’m excited to join and see what we can do in 2021.
”One thing I know with my story and being a late bloomer is resilience, I had to take a lot of knockbacks and a ‘get down seven times and rise eight’ mentality and attitude, that’s where it’s got me so far.
”I know with that resilient mindset and positive attitude going forward I think I can add a bit of value coming into 2021 for Castleford Tigers.”
Tigers head coach Daryl Powell added: “One of the areas we wanted to improve was our go-forward and our ability to dismantle defensive lines with brute strength and we’ve been able to add a couple of players there that I think will really help us.
“Suaia is a go-forward player who we have found difficult to handle in the past with his ability to get the ball on the floor and play it quickly.
”He’s an experienced player, someone who can come in and you know what you’re going to get. He goes from A to B pretty quickly and I think he will be a great addition for us.”
