One of Castleford Tigers’ star off-season signings will again be missing when they play host to Toulouse Olympique on Saturday.
Winger Mikaele Ravalawa joined Tigers in pre-season from St George-Illawarra Dragons, having touched down 67 times during 101 appearances in the southern hemisphere NRL.
The Fijian international has featured only seven times in Super League for Tigers – scoring two tries – and won’t be included in their 21-man squad for this weekend’s game, according to coach Ryan Carr.
Speaking at his weekly preview press conference today (Wednesday), Carr confirmed: “He is still recovering from a knee issue, it is week to week.”
Ravalwa last played for the club in April, during the 50-10 home defeat to Hull FC.
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Ryan Carr praises Castleford Tigers star after contract extension
Tigers had better news on another winger when Jason Qareqare signed a new contract which will keep him at the club until the end of 2029.
Qareqare’s previous terms were due to expire this autumn, and he had been strongly linked with York Knights.
Carr insisted: “I’m really happy to get it done. I was really confident it was going to happen, it was just a process we had to go through.
“He has played a lot of footy here at this club and come through here; he is playing his best footy, and you don’t want to miss out on him coming into the prime of his career, which is now.”
Assessing what makes Qareqare so special, Carr added: “Speed is invaluable in the game, you can’t coach speed, but also it’s his character.
“He’s such a great bloke and a really good personality in the group. He has got a good affiliation with the club and it’s good on all levels for us to get him.
“He knows the importance and value we have for him here and how much we love him.
“It [the new deal] is a good indication of our culture and group at the moment and the belief that’s starting to build.
“We’ve got ways to go, but we are definitely growing in a lot of areas, which is nice.”
