Castleford Tigers playmaker Danny Richardson could be set to hit the loan market after the latest comments from head coach Craig Lingard.
Danny Richardson missed almost all of last season and he’s also missed a chunk of this campaign too. The ex-St Helens man suffered a failed HIA which took him longer to recover than expected after he lost a considerable amount of weight during the return-to-play protocols.
That allowed recruit Rowan Milnes a chance to forge a name for himself and the former Hull KR half has made the shirt his own, something that Craig Lingard confirmed in his post-match interview on Friday night.
Castleford Tigers put Danny Richardson in shop window for loan deal
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Having beaten London Broncos 40-0, Lingard told BBC Radio Leeds: “Rowan Milnes] played well last week, and he’s played well again today, and that’s what you want. You want to reward people for playing well and that’s the competition that we’ve got.”
As such, Richardson has lost his place and now looks free to leave the club on a short-term deal with Lingard confirming that the return of Paul McShane and Milnes’ good form means the club are afforded the chance to loan Richardson out.
With Richardson in the final year of his contract, Lingard made it clear that 27-year-old needs to play for a contract, whether that be at The Jungle or elsewhere.
“He knows what he needs to do and whether that’s playing with us and earning a contract or playing somewhere else to put himself in the shop window, that’s down to him. But it’s certainly something we would be open to if it worked out for both parties.”
With that in mind, here are three possible loan destinations for the Castleford Tigers star.
Hull FC
Normally it would make no sense for a struggling side to help strengthen another struggling team with a short-term loan deal, however, the IMG era of Grading means that on-field performance will likely have no relevance to the Super League status of either team.
Hull FC were confirmed as a Grade A club when the preliminary grades were announced, whilst Castleford’s off-field work led by new investor Martin Jepson seems likely to help them retain their Super League status. As such, Castleford can afford to potentially strengthen their rivals.
It is a deal that would strengthen Hull FC too who have a serious lack of bodies and experience in their halves with young Jack Charles having to partner Morgan Smith currently with Jake Trueman still injured and Nu Brown returning down under. Whilst Charles looks a serious talent, there is the fear of over-exposing him to so many heavy defeats and also giving him an intense workload for such a young lad.
Bringing in someone like Richardson would remedy that and would also help the club land a goal-kicker after the departure of current kicker Darnell McIntosh.
Salford Red Devils
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Salford are overperforming at present with the club currently sitting sixth in Super League, yet they’re level on points with Wigan, Warrington and Hull KR, whilst being just two points shy of top spot in the comp.
The Red Devils already have a controlling left-footed playmaker in Marc Sneyd so there would be question marks over how Richardson would gel at the club, however, his acquisition could be one to add depth.
Utility Chris Atkin started in the halves in yesterday’s win over Warrington Wolves with pre-season signing Cade Cust only making the bench but a loan move for Richardson could add more depth to the Red Devils’ small squad, whilst giving Rowley an option of a true half-back as opposed to having to rely upon utility player Atkin.
Bradford Bulls
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Richardson will of course want playing time in Super League but as Lingard stated, it’s imperative that he gets some game time to put himself in a position to earn a contract for 2025. Dropping down to the Championship would certainly allow that.
Bradford are in the market to strengthen their halves and Richardson could be the perfect candidate for Eamon O’Carroll’s side. Lee Gaskell tore his calf in Round One whilst Tom Holmes is still recovering from a rare form of cancer.
As such, the Bulls are short at the position and they may now have been blessed by Lingard’s admission that Cas are looking to send the 27-year-old out on a loan deal.
