Castleford Tigers’ recruitment update including Tex Hoy admission

Castleford Tigers are in desperate need of new recruits with the club down to the bare bones following a terrible spate of injuries and Craig Lingard has now outlined recruitment plans and even passed comment on the released Tex Hoy.

The Tigers earned their first Super League win of the season over Salford Red Devils last Friday but it came at a cost with four players added to the injury list in the aftermath, including one player who has been lost for the season.

That was signing Josh Simm who Lingard has explained will miss five months at least with the club having no intention to rush him back for the possible remaining two or three games he could be fit for.

Co-captains Paul McShane and Joe Westerman are also casualties with McShane confirmed as sidelined after pulling up with another hamstring injury in the warm-up whilst Westerman is a doubt for the weekend.

The experienced Liam Watts will miss the Challenge Cup clash against Wigan Warriors after failing a HIA and that’s left the Tigers with an injury list comprising 15 players, something that has left Lingard only able to name a 19-man squad instead of the standard 21-man squad.

That’s led to the club desperately testing the loan market with Lingard telling BBC West Yorkshire how that process has gone so far: “Yeah, calls have been made mate and calls and discussions are happening on an hourly basis but with it being a Challenge Cup weekend this weekend it’s really difficult.

“We’re hoping to get some in next week but again situations at clubs change minute by minute and game by game and that might be dictated by some of the games this weekend if teams pick up injuries or suspensions and that might impact on some of the conversations that we’re currently having.”

Once the weekend’s fixtures have been completed it will give Castleford Tigers a far greater chance of securing a deal with rival clubs understandably wary of possibly cup-tieing a player, but the message is clear from Lingard – Cas just need bodies.

Castleford Tigers desperate for signings

Lingard surmised the situation bluntly: “We need to get some bodies in there’s no two ways about it. It’s imperative that we start getting some bodies in now, particularly outside backs because we’re struggling for numbers in outside backs now, so we’re moving people around into positions that it’s not their natural position.”

On the state of negotiations, he revealed the frustrations of the market: “It’s changing hour by hour and day by day. You can have some conversations some days and certain people are available and the following day because of the things that happen at their parent club, that conversation changes.

“We’ve had lots and lots of conversations with different people and different clubs and it’s like I said it’s a constantly moving and fluid situation is that one. There’s no point in saying that something’s definitely happening next week until we get this weekend out of the way and see how teams pull up that are playing in the Challenge Cup. But we’re certainly hopeful that we can get at least a couple of bodies in, minimum, next week.”

One man who has since become available is Tex Hoy following his release from Hull FC with full-back being one of the positions that Castleford Tigers are short in.

Prior to Hoy’s release, Serious About Rugby League compiled a list of potential landing spots for the Australian full-back with Castleford Tigers topping that list and Craig Lingard was asked about the proposition.

Asked if Hoy had been one of those the club had listed themselves, Lingard responded: “No he’s not, no. Well currently at the minute, we’ve got no quota space available anyway so that’s not one that we can seriously consider at the minute, even if we wanted to fully pursue it so we’d have to get rid of somebody in order for us to do that one.”

It does beg the question of whether Castleford Tigers would release one of their current overseas players to facilitate a move for Hoy now that he is officially a free agent, something that will potentially develop over the weekend.