Castleford Tigers dealt blow with half-back signing absent

Castleford Tigers have been dealt a blow before their clash against Huddersfield Giants with half-back signing Rowan Milnes absent from the squad due to injury.

Milnes has signed for the Tigers from Hull KR where he spent the past four seasons but the 26-year-old was one of 11 signings made by Castleford ahead of the 2024 season.

He was also one of three recruits from Hull KR with Sam Wood and Luis Johnson heading to the Jungle and Rovers’ former assistant coach Danny McGuire.

Head coach Craig Lingard has named his squad to face Super League foes Huddersfield this Sunday and Milnes is one of the notable absentees.

In the pre-season game with London Broncos, Milnes picked up a shoulder injury, a clash that unfortunately saw Broncos youngster Bill Leyland suffer a season-ending ACL injury.

It’s believed that Milnes will also miss round one of Super League when the Tigers face champions Wigan Warriors.

Castleford Tigers close to full strength for final pre-season match

With new signing Milnes out the club will operate with Danny Richardson and Jacob Miller in the halves whilst versatile hookers Liam Horne and Paul McShane could offer a change of pace if necessary.

The game will serve as McShane’s testimonial fixture with the veteran having also been named as Castleford Tigers co-captain alongside Joe Westerman.

Loose forward Westerman is also named in what looks to be a very strong squad for the Tigers, the main absentees being Milnes, Alex Mellor (knee) and another recruit Sylvester Namo.

PNG international Namo has been recovering from an ACL injury and his international teammate Rhyse Martin has revealed to BBC Radio Leeds when he’s expecting the man he calls ‘Sully’ to be back.

On his PNG teammates, he explained: “Yeah look, Sully’s (Sylvester Namo) been out with a knee injury so I’m not too sure when he’s back, I think it’s round three or four. He’s probably not going to be back till then.

“Nixon Putt, we call him the Terminator, he’s a beast, he’s really strong, he’ll be good for them. Just a powerhouse really.

“Liam Horne was here last season. So everyone kind of got to see what he brings. He’s just got that skill around and that class through the middle.”

Both Putt and Horne will feature against the Giants who have come into some disciplinary issues of their own.

Castleford Tigers squad to face Huddersfield can be seen below:

1 Luke Hooley
2 Josh Simm
3 Jack Broadbent
4 Sam Wood
5 Innes Senior
6 Danny
7 Jacob Miller
8 Liam Watts
9 Paul McShane
10 George Lawler
Richardson
11 Elie El Zakhem
13 Joe Westerman
14 Liam Horne
17 Nixon Putt
19 Sam Hall
20 Muizz Mustapha
22 Charbel Tasipale
23 Jason Qareqare
30 Luis Johnson
31 Fletcher Rooney

Two Huddersfield Giants hit with bans following friendly

Following their emphatic victory over London Broncos two of Huddersfield’s players have received bans for their actions and subsequently, one player will miss the Super League opener against Leigh Leopards.

The players in question are Tui Lolohea and Leroy Cudjoe with half-back Lolohea copping a two-match ban which will rule him out of round one.

Hit with a dangerous contact charge, the Match Review Panel found that the Tongan should be banned for ‘dangerous contact’.

They stated: “Defender uses any part of their body forcefully to twist, bend or otherwise apply pressure to the limb or limbs of an opposing player in a way that involves an unacceptable risk of injury to that player.”

As for Cudjoe, he’s been hit with a one-match ban for a ‘dangerous throw/lift’ meaning he’s absent against the Tigers.

They were just two of a whole host of players charged by the disciplinary panel this week.