The 2026 season hasn’t even started yet, but Castleford Tigers have already started planning for the future, and Chris Chester has confirmed that some deals are already over the dotted line for 2027.
The Tigers, who have been through a savage recruitment period this off-season, whereby 13 players have joined the club and 13 players have exited the Onebore Stadium, be that permanently or on loan.
In what is a new era under Ryan Carr, the club look to finally progress up the table, and eventually return to the play-off places, something they haven’t done since 2019.
The likes of Brock Greacen, Blake Taaffe and Tom Weaver have all joined the club from the NRL, whilst Super League recruits include Liam Hood, Renouf Atoni and Jordan Lane.
Chester, who has been with the West Yorkshire side since joining from Leigh Leopards in May 2025, set out a clear recruitment focus this off-season, and after the signings has has made, he feels he has achieved that.
“We said from day one, when I walked in the door, that we need some athletic bodies in the team and we need some bigger bodies,” Chester revealed in an interview with the club’s social media.
“I think the way that we’ve recruited this year has been based around leg speed, and that’s such an important part of the game these days.
“We’ve identified those kind of players and also done some really good background checks on individuals.”
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Boss Carr has said all through the off-season that they have focused on brining in a quality person as well as player, and one that wants to give everything for the club.
Chester continued:Â “We feel like we’ve taken a big step forward in recruitment this year and we’ve made some giant strides in terms of the 2027 recruitment.
“In the here and now, I’m really pleased with the squad that we’ve assembled. There is some cap space there to jiggle around, should we need to during the year.”
Explaining further on the completed buisness for next season, he said: “I’m really happy with the squad we’ve assembled [for 2026], but we’re not going to sit back. We need to be really proactive.
“We already have been already in [signing players for] 2027. Those players will get announced towards the back end of the season, but what I will say is, there’s a lot of good individuals that we’ve identified that we’ve managed to secure for ’27.
“There’s a lot of good players that we’re looking at bringing in for 2026 as well, so in terms of recruitment, it’s just about bringing good people in… and I’m really happy with the position we are in at the moment.”
One player the club have been linked with signing is Leigh Leopards prop, Robbie Mulhern. Reports from elsewhere have stated that the 31-year-old will be a Tigers player in 2027, ending his four-year stay at the Leigh Sports Village.
Castleford kick off their 2026 campaign with a home game against Wigan Warriors, who themselves will be hungry for success this year after going trophyless throughout 2025.
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