Chris Chester has overseen the arrival of two more loanees from Leigh Leopards with Castleford Tigers now up to three fresh recruits this week.
The Tigers, who remain without Ryan Carr at the helm due to ‘personal reasons’, will head to St Helens on Saturday bolstered by three loanees, all of whom have arrived from Chester’s old club Leigh.
After signing Lazarus Vaalepu on loan earlier this week in a move that saw Jack Ashworth head the other way as a permanent signing, Castleford have now seen two more Leopards become temporary Tigers as Ben McNamara and Keanan Brand have signed on loan until the end of the season.
It’s understood that McNamara, who can play anywhere across the spine, has signed a permanent deal at the club for 2027 with the 25-year-old out of contract at Leigh.
Whereas, Brand is expected to just be at Castleford for the remainder of the season as he makes his return from injury.
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Castleford Tigers sign two more Leigh loanees
Castleford announced both loan signings on Wednesday afternoon, confirming that each man will be in contention to debut on Saturday against St Helens.
A club statement read: “Castleford Tigers are delighted to announce the signings of Keanan Brand and Ben McNamara on loan deals from Leigh Leopards until the end of the 2026 Betfred Super League season.”
Explaining the moves, Castleford said: “The Tigers have moved to make additions to our squad following injuries to key players, strengthening our side as we aim to finish as highly as possible on the league table come the end of this year. The pair will go straight into contention to make their Castleford debuts in Saturday’s Round 24 clash with St Helens at The BrewDog Stadium.”
McNamara will be an option at hooker or in the halves whilst Brand will likely replace the injured Jason Qareqare on the wing, with the Fijian international out with a hamstring injury.
Speaking on the signings, director of rugby Chris Chester said: “Both Ben and Keanan are players that I know well from my time at Leigh. They both compete really hard and go after the game, and they will give us some much needed depth to our squad.”
