Castleford Tigers’ 2027 overseas quota contract status after star’s new deal and reported NRL signing

Castleford Tigers appear busy in their recruitment and retention but what does their overseas quota limit look like for the upcoming 2027 season?

Director of rugby Chris Chester has seemingly been working overtime of late with the club confirming a new long-term contract for their 2026 standout Krystian Mapapalangi, whilst reports have now emerged that they’re set to sign former State of Origin hooker Damien Cook.

Cook’s St George Illawarra Dragons have confirmed that he will leave the club at the end of the season and a report from Danny Weidler has suggested he’ll ink a two-year deal at Wheldon Road.

With Super League clubs allowed a maximum of ten overseas players on the books, it means the Tigers will have to lose one of their current crop as they are currently maxed out.

We’ve looked at the contract status of the current ten players to see who is likely to still be playing at the OneBore Stadium next year alongside Damien Cook.

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Castleford Tigers’ overseas contract situation

2026 – Daejarn Asi, Joe Stimson and Zac Cini

Off-contract at the end of this current season are three players with the Tigers reportedly having already tried to offload centre Zac Cini but to no avail.

That would suggest he won’t land a new deal and it’s still to be seen if Daejarn Asi is the long-term answer in the halves for the Tigers, so that will be an interesting decision to watch play out.

As for Joe Stimson, he’s been one of the club’s more consistent performers in 2026 and has taken on a leadership role.

2027 – Brock Greacen, Renouf Atoni, Semi Valemei and Tom Weaver

Four of the club’s off-season signings all come off-contract at the end of next season and so far, you wouldn’t say any of them have made it impossible for the club not to re-sign them, as was the case with Mapapalangi.

Valemei has struggled to remain on the field, Tom Weaver hasn’t yet hit his stride in the halves and pack pair Greacen and Atoni are part of a forward pack that’s come in for criticism.

2028 – Blake Taaffe, Damien Cook* and Mikaele Ravalawa

Should Damien Cook sign the reported two-year deal then he’d be tied to the club until the end of 2028, meaning he’d be 27 in the second half of his final season.

We’re yet to see what Blake Taaffe can do in a Castleford shirt as his season was cruelly cut short due to an ACL injury in the season opener, whilst Ravalawa, like fellow winger Valemei, has struggled with injury and that’s appeared to affect his performances.

2029 – Krystian Mapapalangi

Castleford hit this piece of recruitment out of the park so it’s no surprise that they’ve moved quick to tie Mapapalangi down long-term. Of the 11 players listed, Cook included, you’d say he is the one player you’d truly want to build a team around which speaks to his quality but also the lack thereof among some of the club’s other overseas players.

That said, plenty of those signed in this recent recruitment cycle still have time to prove themselves and that’s what Chris Chester will be hoping for.