Greg Eden has locked in his Super League club for 2023.
Eden, one of the league’s most impressive wingers, has signed a new contract to stay at Wheldon Road for a further year with the option to stay until 2024.
The 31-year-old is a proud product of the Tigers’ Academy, and after moves to Hull KR and Huddersfield as well as a stint in the NRL with Brisbane Broncos, Greg has been back representing his boyhood club since 2017.
Eden, who has been proudly sponsored by Trinity House Orthodontics since 2018, holds an astonishing try-scoring record with Cas registering 101 tries in 98 games.
When talking to castlefordtigers.com, Eden explained that he is delighted to be staying at his hometown club.
“It’s a bit of weight of the shoulders, you feel a bit of pressure going through contract talks, so to get it out of the way and done with is really good and I can just concentrate on playing for the rest of the year.”
The wingers’ strike rate is regarded as one of the best in Betfred Super League and he will be aiming to maintain that prolific record.
“It’s just part of my game. I like to think that I have an eye for scoring a try because it just seems to come when you’re playing on the wing. You’re always in these positions, it’s something that just flows.”
Representing Castleford, the team he followed as a youngster, is an honour that Eden takes great pride in, and the winger outlined that as a major factor in him extending his stay at Wheldon Road.
“Definitely because I’ve come through the club as a kid, I think I’m getting to that age now where it looks like I’ll probably finish my career here as well, so I’m going to try and go as long as I can and as long as my body holds up. It would be nice to finish here and that’s one of the main reasons for staying again.
“It’s surreal playing here because it’s my hometown club. After looking up to the players growing up, I used to come down and watch and wanted to be a part of it and now I’m on the other side of the fence, playing for them on matchdays, it feels really good.”
Eden is now one of the most experienced members of the Cas squad and with an exciting pack of youngsters coming through at the Tigers, he put forward that being a mentor to young players is something that he has taken on board.
“I think that’s part of your role when you get older. Obviously, we’ve got young Jason Qareqare coming through, he’s quite similar to me with his speed and the way he likes to score a try. He can play full-back as well. It’s down to the older lads to tip up as well as coaches. In training, if you see anything that they’re doing wrong, you just correct them on it. That’s what happened to me when I was coming through, and you feel like you’ve got to give back.”
2022 marks the first time that Eden has experienced a change in Head Coach during his spell with the Fords and when questioned on his relationship with Lee Radford, Greg declared that the 43-year-old has given him a new lease of life.
“I’ve enjoyed it so far; it was a bit of a fresh start. I think that’s what happens when you’ve been at a club for such a long time. It doesn’t feel like I’ve been here for 5 years, but when you have, it’s a bit of a breath of fresh air when someone new comes in.”
The Fords faithful love nothing more than to see Eden racing over for a try and in closing, Eden gave his thanks for their fantastic backing during his time at the Tigers.
“Thank you very much for your support and I hope you keep supporting me for the rest of my time at the club.”
Head Coach Lee Radford commented on the news of Eden’s extension and said: “I’m really pleased Greg will be staying with us, to get him tied down and locked in is great. He made it clear he was keen to stay as well, and I think his try-scoring record for a winger is phenomenal, and I’ve really enjoyed working with him since I’ve come into the club.”
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