Castleford Tigers have confirmed that this weekend’s scheduled friendly with Oldham has been called off.
The Tigers were due to meet Oldham at Wheldon Road as they step up their preparations for the start of the Super League season, but that game has now been cancelled. A frozen pitch is to blame with the playing surface in West Yorkshire deemed to be unsafe to play on.
As such, with no sign of the cold weather improving heading into the weekend, a decision has been made with two days’ notice. It means Oldham now risk heading into the new Championship season without a pre-season friendly under their belts.
Ryan Carr’s Castleford will have the opportunity to run out twice more over the coming weeks though, with Leeds Rhinos due to travel to Wheldon Road next week for Brad Singleton’s testimonial before the Tigers take on St Helens on January 24.
Castleford Tigers cancel Oldham friendly
A statement from Castleford Tigers read: “Unfortunately, due to weather conditions, we can confirm that Saturday’s friendly game with Oldham has been cancelled.
“The pitch at the OneBore Stadium is currently frozen over and unsafe to play on, therefore a decision was made this morning to call the game off. We have kept Oldham informed throughout the week as weather conditions have failed to improve.”
Castleford have also confirmed that supporters who have purchased a ticket will be given the option of a refund or exchanging the ticket for next week’s game against Leeds. Alternatively, for non-members, the price paid can be discounted from a ticket for the Super League season opener against Wigan Warriors next month.
The game was initially due to be played in Benidorm, but organisation issues meant it had to be rearranged with Wheldon Road the venue.
Last week’s freezing temperatures saw friendlies in Barrow and Halifax called off unfortunately and given Castleford’s pitch was showing no signs of thawing ahead of the weekend, it’s fair to assume other games could well be at risk this weekend, with the Challenge Cup first round and a number of pre-season friendlies taking place.
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