Exclusive: Grant Millington reveals the club he almost signed for in his last year at Castleford Tigers

Grant Millington will forever go down in Castleford Tigers’ folklore for the incredible contribution he made in his ten years at the club.

From an inexperienced front-rower to an incredibly skilful, determined and intelligent forward who could even play halfback, Millington’s journey from Australia to the UK was a meteoric one.

Ask any Castleford supporter who their favourite overseas player in Super League history is and many would say Millington, with Rangi Chase and Adrian Vowles probably being mentioned next.

In his last year at the Tigers in 2021, however, it became clear that the Aussie would not be at the Jungle in 2022, so speculation began to mount about where his next destination would be.

One of those rumours linked Millington with the Bradford Bulls, but that was way off the mark according to the 35-year-old.

“There were reports floating around that I had signed at Bradford,” Millington told Serious About Rugby League.

“But there was obviously no substance in that whatsoever. I’d never even spoken to anyone from the Bulls.”

It was Bradford’s West Yorkshire Championship rivals that came calling instead.

“I never had any offers, but I went and met James Ford at York.

“I was keen to play on another year, and I couldn’t see myself playing for another Super League club.

“I was really impressed with Fordy’s vision and the facilities at York, but when I spoke to the kids about it, they wanted to head to Australia and get to know their family through something other than a phone screen so that made the decision for me to call it a day pretty easy.”