Castleford Tigers to target specific position as owner assesses recruitment 

Castleford Tigers owner Martin Jepson says the club is actively looking for forwards ahead of the 2025 campaign.

It took a while for Castleford Tigers’ recruitment to get underway for 2025, but it has started to trickle through, meaning we can start to see a team shaping up.

Zac Cini, Daejarn Asi and Judah Rimbu all look to be good, creative signings for the side that struggled to create last season.

However, there is a gaping hole in the pack, with a number of players leaving the club at the end of 2024, and no new big-name props or second-rowers brought into the fold yet.

Castleford Tigers recruitment “concentrated” on forwards, says chairman

Speaking to the fan-made podcast the COYFCast, Jepson was asked whether the club would be signing a prop, and he responded: “I’d hope so, but it depends, ultimately, on who’s available.

“That’s where I’m not here to pick the team, that’s where I’m relying on the coaches to tell me who they believe they need. But yeah, it’s fair to say that the remainder of our recruitment is going to be concentrated up front, with the middles and back rows.

“And exactly who comes and who fits what role will depend on what we find. You know the middles have been hard to come by.

“Kieran Hudson is back with us. He’s very much at the younger end and he’s somebody who we hope we can keep fit and we think he’s got a great prospect. The issue he’s had last couple of seasons is keeping fit.”

Hudson was previously with the club before joining Leeds Rhinos but struggled due to injuries and has returned to the club while still without a single Super League appearance under his belt.

His signing was under the radar, with no official announcement except a brief Twitter post that briefly mentioned that he was back with the club, potentially suggesting he won’t be a prominent feature in the first-team set-up, something that is also underlined by Jepson’s comments.

✍️ Re-signed.

👏 We are delighted to see Kieran representing the black and amber again!

🙌 Welcome back Kieran!#COYF•#TIGERSFUTURE pic.twitter.com/TSSNyDgp1a

— Castleford Tigers (@CTRLFC) November 20, 2024

Jepson continued: “He’s on board but we know that we need one or two starting middles, back-rowers to come on board before the season starts.

“The back line looks quite good, quite pleased with that we signed Judah Rimbu and Daejarn Asi. I think they’ll be exciting players and bring a new edge to the club.”

He also explained that a focus had been on letting a number of unneeded players leave, saying: “I don’t really want players hanging around the squad who are just never going to feature.

“I want to put proper competition into the squad and I want to make sure that everybody who’s there then believes, even if they’re not in the squad that week, that they’ve got a chance and they should be aiming to be in the squad for other weeks.”

You can listen to the full episode of the COYFCast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.