Castleford Tigers boss Ryan Carr has confirmed that he will have just ‘19 or 20’ players to pick from given the club’s injury issues, however, one of those available players is young full-back Fletcher Rooney.
Rooney, who signed a massive five-year deal at the start of the 2025 season, has not played since February, last making an appearance in the Tigers’ round two loss against Toulouse.
He’s one of two youngsters who could get a shot in the spine this week against Hull KR as a replacement for half-back Tom Weaver, who will miss out after failing a HIA in the loss to Warrington.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday about what changes may be made for Friday night’s game, Carr said: “In the spine there, we’ve got Fletcher Rooney and Jenson Windley as two options for us.
“It just depends which way we go there. They’re a couple of young kids who have been at our club for a while now. They’ve been training really well and playing well in reserves and that. It will probably come down to one of those two.”
The head coach also confirmed the severity of Jason Qareqare’s hamstring injury, noting that he could return before the end of the year.
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Castleford Tigers set for halves switch-up after HIA
Windley played in the halves ahead of a healthy Tom Weaver back in round 18 but that was his first appearance since round nine, and he hasn’t featured since.
Rooney’s wait has been even longer though with the full-back suffering a hamstring injury that required surgery, having missed four months of 2025 due to a quad injury.
On Rooney’s return chances, Carr said: “He got injured in round two, I think, and then he’s just fought his way back and played two games of reserves. He’s keen. He’s super keen and so is Jenson.
“They’re both great kids. They both train really hard. So yeah, whichever one gets the opportunity, I’m looking forward to seeing them play.”
As for who else could return, Carr said: “Sam Hall’s a chance of being back. He was out last week injured. Obviously Tom Weaver is out with the head knock. I think we’ve got about 19 to pick from, 19 or 20.”
On Tom Weaver failing his HIA, Carr noted the club’s ‘extreme amount of head knocks’, adding: “I don’t know how I’m going to get to the bottom of that. It just feels like every week we’ve got one coming off and then someone’s moving somewhere, someone’s going somewhere else.”
