Lee Radford on his halfback choice, rejecting another move for Castleford and signing that has taken him by surprise

After eight-and-a-half years of Daryl Powell as head coach, Castleford Tigers are under new management.

Lee Radford, whose own coaching reign came to an end in March 2020, has taken the reins and revealed that he took the Castleford job because he ‘couldn’t turn it down’, rejecting the Dallas Jackals in the USA – though he was jealous of the American side’s facilities.

“My lad showed me their social media and their facilities they are training in and the weather looked stunning,” Radford said.

“But, it wasn’t meant to be, I was ready to go and unfortunately their participation in the league got postponed for 12 months.

“When this opportunity came I couldn’t turn it down, rugby league is in my blood and hopefully we will get some new facilities and the weather will change soon!”

Radford also pointed out that he has been thoroughly impressed by one new signing in particular that he has made.

“We’ve seen that Cas are a structured side but we want to play more, giving the likes of Jake Mamo and Jordan Turner early ball – we want to get excited on the back of an offload.

“Jake has been fantastic and a pleasure to coach, I like him and what he is about.

“He’s constantly smiling and one of those that brings a bit of energy to the room and environment and he’s freakishly athletic with what he has done at training.”

The former Hull FC boss has revealed that he is looking for two halfbacks in particular to stand out amongst the four choices of Jake Trueman, Danny Richardson, Gareth O’Brien and Callum McLelland.

“I want to get a bit of continuity, I think it’s important to get that fluency in the halves.

“It’s a really important position, so I’m hoping two really step up and pull away but they aren’t bad replacements to jump in if not – it’s a bit of a rarity to have four english halves.”