Castleford star reveals how the squad reacted to Joe Westerman video

Castleford Tigers had a bumpy start to the season.

Not only did they lose their opening four games of the campaign as Lee Radford parted company with the club but there was a lot made of the videos circulated of Joe Westerman on social media which prompted a lot of unwanted attention on the player, club and the sport in general.

Speaking on the Fully Game YouTube channel, Castleford star Greg Eden opened up on what the impact was on their pre-season and if it derailed their preparations.

“You’d like to think probably not but everyone was taking the piss out of him and talking about it in training,” Eden said.

“It was two weeks before the season started and that probably did take our minds off track but I can’t believe how he’s handled it.

“It takes a certain person to knock something like that on the head and concentrate on your rugby, and he played the week after.

“I think the club stepped in and just said we’d have to sit him down for a game to let it cool off.

“It’s mad how he’s handled it. Stuff like that it takes a few weeks and then it’s all blown over, you might get the odd person shouting something.”

He also addressed how the club reacted: “We’ve got a welfare officer if anything like that happens. It’s all confidential and you can just go see him away from training, he’s there to speak with.

“Even if not he’ll help you with your career after, say if you want to do a course or become a joiner. There’s stuff to help you.”