Lee Radford hints at future recruitment policy and finances at Castleford

Lee Radford has already made a number of changes to his Castleford Tigers squad as he prepares for his first season at the Jungle.

Eight new signings have come through the door with the likes of Jake Mamo, Kenny Edwards and Alex Sutcliffe all ready to don the Tigers shirt in 2022.

But, among the new faces is trialist Junior Vasuitoga – a Fijian in the British Army and Radford certainly has a good track record in that department.

Bringing Ratu Naulago – a Fijian in the British Army too – to Hull FC back in 2019 proved to be an inspired choice and the winger earned himself a big deal at rugby union side Bristol Bears for 2021.

In that respect, Radford has revealed just how that initial move came about.

“Ratu has almost made it mission impossible, I had watched the Rugby 7s with him in it playing for Saracens and my ears pricked up when I heard he was a trialist from the military,” Radford said.

“The chap who we spoke to is still coaching the 7s squad when I was at hull and he passed Junior’s footage onto me and I liked what I saw.

“He had a lot of the natural abilities that you can’t coach and it remains to be seen how good he can adapt to the game of rugby league.”

Radford went on to stress how finances can impact moves such as these.

“In a salary-capped sport it’s really important, the competition with other clubs is huge.

“Others, financially, are in a fantastic situation compared to where we are at as a club.

“There are some big hitters, Warrington for example, and the competition isn’t there with us, so trying to unearth one or two gems is important.”