Castleford Tigers have confirmed that Academy Player of the Year Aaron Willis has joined the first team for pre-season.
The young forward is certainly enjoying the step up as he told Tigers TV: “It’s great, it’s been really good and learning a lot. Getting stuck on and come along a lot over the last few weeks which is great for my personal development.
“It’s a step up, the plays are the same but the intensity and how everything is done is a step up which I’ve found is really good for my development.”
Willis, among the other young players who have made the leap, underline the strength of the Tigers’ academy which after a long battle received an Elite Academy Licence recently having been originally denied one.
These young lads are helping each other with the step up:
“We’ve got a tight little group which helps us out because if there is anyone struggling we can get around them and help them out.”
When asked which Castleford stars are helping him the most, he said: “A lot of the middles, people like Liam Watts and Nathan Massey with little things that can make a massive difference which people don’t always notice.
“I just want to learn as much as I can and improve as much as I can. I’ve not really set myself goals for next year playing wise, the sky is the limit.”
📈 The Tigers' Academy Player of the Year for 2022, Aaron Willis, has made the step up to the First Team for pre-season and is relishing the challenge!
See every game in #TigerTown
🐯 https://t.co/81FYdQAVbT#COYF pic.twitter.com/GTa0GcoFMT— Castleford Tigers (@CTRLFC) December 27, 2022
