Castleford Tigers head coach Craig Lingard has confirmed that his side are “very, very close” to confirming new players being signed.
The season ended with another disappointing result at the hands of fellow strugglers Huddersfield Giants, on a tough Thursday night for Tigers fans.
A 34-10 loss was the second loss to the Giants in pretty quick succession, after defeat at Magic Weekend.
After a 10th-placed finish, they now move into the second year of the ‘three-year plan’ that Lingard has referred to often this year.
“Very, very close” – Castleford Tigers boss on player recruitment for 2025
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Speaking in the post-match press conference, Lingard spoke at length about recruitment.
He said: “We’ve got to go into the second year of this three-year project and bring better quality players in to make sure our 17 is stronger next year and the extended squad is stronger as well.”
“Not 100% sure what the expense is going to be. The budget is going up next season. How much that’s going to be, I’m not 100% sure.”
There is some cautiously positive news in terms of the budget, according to Lingard: “Over the three-year period, the budget will grow year on year. Some of that is because of players coming out of contracts and moving on, or people who might be on two-year deals.
“Looking at some players moving on which will free up a little bit more budget as well so you know we’re working with the budget that we’ve got at this moment in time, but that might be a little bit of movement in that based on some more movement in players as well.”
In terms of what is needed for 2025, he admitted: “We need at least six or seven. We probably need to bring in at least another couple of middles, potentially a back-rower, half-back. Zac Cini is already confirmed in the centres.”
He did, however, reveal: “A couple are very, very close to being confirmed if not already confirmed.”
Daejarn Asi and Mat Croker are two NRL names that have been suggested as being close to a move to Wheldon Road for next season.
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