Castleford Tigers pencil in friendly as part of transfer deal and masterminded by Wigan Warriors duo

Whitehaven Rugby League we will be welcoming Super League side Castleford Tigers to the LEL Arena to round off our pre-season schedule on Sunday 29th January 3pm kick off. 

Haven will welcome the Tigers to the LEL Arena for the first time since August 2007 where the Tigers secured a 20-12 victory in front of the Sky cameras back in National League 1. Many fans will remember some of the battles we had with the Tigers in 2005 and 2007 including the 2005 National League 1 Grand Final.

The clash with Lee Radford’s Tigers will be the final of 3 pre-season games at the LEL Arena with ourselves welcoming Workington Town on Sunday 15th January in the Ike Southward Memorial Trophy and Wigan Warriors on Sunday 22nd January. All fixtures will kick off at 3pm.

Speaking about his side’s pre-season encounters Jonty Gorley said “It’s great to have three home friendlies this year, all of which should drum up some pre season interest for the fans. The Ike game is special to both clubs – the only scheduled fixture between us and town this year – and to me personally. Also, to get two Super League clubs coming to the LEL is fantastic. Hopefully they will all serve a purpose in our preparation for the new championship season and like I said, be good for the fans too.”

The friendly is part of the deal Castleford made to acquire the services of Kieran Hudson from Whitehaven.

Meanwhile Wigan Warriors duo Darrell Goulding and Shane Eccles have helped mastermind the friendly according to Director Ashley Kilpatrick who spoke about the pre-season schedule saying: “It’s absolutely brilliant to have these 3 friendlies at home this forthcoming season, having the Ike game at home and then 2 Super League sides coming in consecutive weeks will be brilliant to see down at the LEL arena.

“Darrell Goulding and now Shane Eccles at Wigan Warriors have really helped pull this friendly together at their end they were really keen to come up and play against us.

“Danny Wilson at Castleford was a massive help getting this one confirmed and sorted really quickly it was part of the deal that saw Kieran Hudson sign permanently for the Tigers.

“Hopefully we can attract big crowds to all 3 games it would be great to see the LEL arena bouncing for 3 weeks consecutively and giving us a good start heading into the 2023 season.”