Castleford Tigers are days away from agreeing a new contract with one of their most prized assets.
Australian centre Krystian Mapapalangi has been in outstanding form for the West Yorkshire club since joining them late in pre-season from NRL outfit Wests Tigers, despite playing in a team who have won only three of their nine Betfred Super League fixtures so far.
The 23-year-old signed for Castleford on a two-year deal, but his performances – including two tries in last weekend’s 50-10 loss to Hull FC – have caught the eye of rival clubs, prompting Tigers to open talks with him about a longer arrangement.
It now appears to be only a matter of time before Mapapalangi commits to extending his stay.
Speaking at his preview press conference today (Wednesday) ahead of tomorrow’s game at Hull KR, Castleford coach Ryan Carr confirmed: “We are very close and we’ll hopefully have some news on that in the coming days.”
Carr said: “He has been unreal for us, he is a shining light in the competition, let alone for us. I’ve got a great relationship with Krystian and I love working with him.
“It’s hard to talk about it because we need to focus on the here and now – there’s a game tomorrow night and that’s the most important thing to me right now, but hopefully we can secure his services moving forward. He is someone we can really build a squad around.”
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