“I want to win the comp” – Castleford Tigers’ new recruit outlines season aims

Castleford Tigers’ new boy Zac Cini has set his stall out for the season with lifting the Super League trophy his main goal for 2025.

It’s an ambitious goal laid out by the 24-year-old and one that the bookmakers are pricing up as large as 100/1 but it’s perhaps reflective of a change in the type of recruit the club has targetted.

Cini came through the Penrith Panthers system before debuting in the NRL aged 20 and now, aged 24, will make the switch to Super League in a move that has the outside back ‘excited to make more of a difference in a team than I have before’.

That’s what he told BBC Sport West Yorkshire when he gave his first interview shortly after landing in the country during a week of winter weather that has seen temperatures dip below freezing. For Cini, who was born in Sydney, it’s going to lead to a period of adjustment.

“It’s a new experience that I’m really liking so far,” he explained before noting the weather, as most Aussie recruits do: “I’m just used to the different time zones and the cold weather, I’m getting used to it already. It won’t take too long.”

That was how Cini started his first interview as a Castleford Tigers player but he ended it with the bold declaration that he wants to lift Super League with Castleford Tigers, a club who have not made the play-offs since 2019.

When asked of his goals, Cini was straight to the point: “I want to win the comp. I don’t think anyone plays football without having that goal in mind so I think that’s the same for everyone at this club. You go into the season and the only goal is to win the comp.

“If you don’t achieve that, you can be happy with the season and you can have made good steps forward but at the end of the day, that is the overall goal and that’s what everyone is working towards.”

New Castleford Tigers man outlines what he’ll bring in 2025

It was a refreshing answer from Cini who would quickly outline what brought him to Castleford Tigers with the former Parramatta man being one of three overseas signings at Wheldon Road, alongside fellow Eels man Daejarn Asi and PNG international Judah Rimbu.

Cini explained: “It was a lot to do with not just the excitement of playing football here but also my family. We thought it was a good opportunity to have my family explore and see a new country.

“There was a lot to do with the football, I like the club, the signings they have made and I was excited to start something new but I also wanted my family to be part of something new as well.”

He’d also make note of the club’s other overseas recruits, both of whom will play in the spine and potentially be laying on plenty of assists for the 6’2” outside back.

“I’ve played with or against a lot of the players that Castleford have made and I think their style really suits the way I play as well,” Cini explained when he was asked specifically about why he signed for Castleford.

He’s been a dominant force in the New South Wales Cup and when asked about his playstyle, he noted instincts and off-the-cuff ability as what fans at The Jungle can expect to see.

The 24-year-old said: “For me, I focus my game on being able to adjust and take an opportunity when it comes rather than playing structure,” which Cini conceded there ‘is a time and place for’.

“But when an opportunity comes, I think I’m able to play off my ability and instincts. I think that I can bring that to the team and create for other people as well.”

“I have had to focus on that balance because without structure, everything goes downhill. There’s always a time and place for both and it’s something in my career I’ve had to learn to navigate.”