Castleford Tigers boosted ahead of Craig Lingard’s Batley return

Castleford Tigers will head to face Batley Bulldogs on Saturday, the old stomping ground of their head coach and they’ve been boosted with the return of skipper Paul McShane and Liam Watts.

Craig Lingard signed on initially as Castleford Tigers assistant coach in the summer of last year, brought in to assist Andy Last whilst remaining as head coach at Batley Bulldogs.

He did commit that he was leaving Batley and would serve as Last’s assistant for 2024 but with Last sacked there was uncertainty about his role. Ultimately though, Lingard was deemed the right man by the club and was awarded the head coaching job instead.

It’s been a rough start for him though with Castleford Tigers winless in Super League and having been on the wrong end of some heavy scores during that time as well.

The past two defeats against Huddersfield Giants and Catalans Dragons have seen the Tigers ship a total of 90 points and a loss against his former club would pile more pressure on Lingard, who has called on his players to take some accountability.

There is a major boost in the squad news though with captain Paul McShane returning which will ease pressure on other spine players whilst also providing plenty of leadership and grit.

Castleford Tigers boosted by returning skipper

McShane rejoins the squad after missing the opening five games of the season due to an injury sustained during one of the pre-season friendlies.

The other major returnee is Liam Watts who has served the controversial four-game ban that was handed down to him following the Round One loss against Wigan Warriors.

Watts had been deemed to have made forceful contact with the head of Tyler Dupree which saw him sent off and then banned for four matches after a tribunal.

The veteran’s return adds size and power to a pack that has been overwhelmed at times so far this season.

There’s also a possible first appearance this season for Josh Hodson whilst Danny Richardson is named in the 21-man squad after missing recent games due to complications after a concussion.

Richardson had reportedly lost a vast amount of weight according to Lingard but he could feature on Saturday which would be another big boost to the spine.

Nixon Putt drops out and Elie El-Zakem remains absent.

The full 21-man squad can be seen below:

1: Luke Hooley
2: Josh Simm
3: Jack Broadbent
5: Innes Senior
6: Danny Richardson
7: Jacob Miller
8: Liam Watts
9: Paul McShane
12: Alex Mellor
13: Joe Westerman
14: Liam Horne
16: Rowan Milnes
18: Josh Hodson
19: Sam Hall
21: Sylvester Namo
24: Cain Robb
25: Brad Martin
26: Samy Kibula
27: Albert Vete
29: George Hill
30: Luis Johnson