Castleford Tigers have confirmed their squad for tomorrow’s friendly against Leeds Rhinos with a surprise player named in the starting XIII.
Leeds Rhinos will travel to take on Castleford in a game that will serve as the testimonial for Tigers, and former Rhinos, forward Brad Singleton so it’s no surprise that he starts at prop in Ryan Carr’s first squad as Castleford head coach.
However, what is somewhat surprising is the fact that Aidan Doolan, who Castleford signed this off-season and then sent out on a season-long loan to Barrow Raiders, is named at nine.
It was only last week that the news of Doolan’s loan exit was confirmed and with Barrow starting their Championship campaign off on Sunday as well, it’s a shock to see the ex-Wire man featuring for the Tigers.
He’s one of a handful of standout names in an otherwise very young squad, with Leeds Rhinos having also named a very youthful squad for the match.
Castleford Tigers confirm squad for Ryan Carr’s first game
Among the big names to feature are full-back Fletcher Rooney who features in a back-line that sees Louis Senior start in the centres, whilst star of the future Jenson Windley plays in the halves alongside Corey Sharpe, whose brother Tylor plays on the wing.
New signing Jimmy Beckett starts at prop alongside Singleton with that pair among the most senior players in what is a very youthful squad that’s packed full of academy talent.
It’s expected that Castleford will use their second and final pre-season game against St Helens to get minutes for their more established squad members.
Castleford Tigers squad to face Leeds Rhinos
1. Rooney, 2. Sarbah, 3. Senior, 4. Lindsay, 5. T.Sharpe, 6. C.Sharpe, 7. Windley, 8. Singleton, 9. Doolan, 10. Beckett, 11. Grice, 12. Salmon, 13. Hill, 14. Horwell, 15. Egley, 16. Matvejev, 17. Jewitt, 18. Walker, 19. Beedle, 20. Coughlan
Leeds Rhinos squad to face Castleford Tigers
Leeds Rhinos had named their squad previously with Chev Walker leading a similarly young team with overseas signing Jeremiah Mata’utia among the standout names.
1. Harley Thomas, 2. Tom Richardson, 3. Jacob Hardy, 4. Oscar Brown, 5. Marcus Qareqare, 6. Dylan Hutchinson, 7. Harry Smith, 8. Jacob Stead, 9. Joe Diskin, 10. Jeremiah Mata’utia, 11. Ben Littlewood, 12. Oliver Smart, 13. Tom Nicholson-Watton, 14. Elliot Fox, 15. Joe Butterfield, 16. Hughie Tinkler, 17. Dacx Jones-Buchanan, 18. Harvey Butterworth, 19. Robin Smith, 20. Wade White, 21. Jacob To’oala, 22. Sonny Hetherington
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TEAM NEWS 📋
Confirmation of our side to face @leedsrhinos in Brad Singleton’s Testimonial tomorrow!#COYF pic.twitter.com/PeSGk1WASZ
— Castleford Tigers (@CTRLFC) January 17, 2026
