Window Shopping: Castleford

What's going wrong for Castleford, and who can they sign to improve?

The stats used for this article are sourced from NRL.com or Super League’s official website, unless otherwise stated. They are accurate up to the start of Super League’s Round 19 and up to the date of publication for the Hostplus Cup and New South Wales Cup.

When I started this blog a few years ago, I made a deliberate decision to avoid off-field matters for several reasons. For one, writing about the murky, often nonsensical politics of rugby league requires background information about the latest scheming and meetings that typically only journalists are privy to. Second, and more importantly, I find it boring. Rugby league is played on the pitch by players, not in booths by the directors, not in the stands by fans, and not on the sideline by coaches. Therefore, the observable, quantifiable, and analysable performance of players is by far the most interesting thing to write about. However, as Emerson wrote in 1841, “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,” and Martin Jepson’s sacking of Danny McGuire is so obviously impulsive, and so divorced from long-term strategy, that it deserves a mini-breakdown before I discuss what Castleford should do for season 2026.

In Castleford’s official press release, Jepson cited “the result and performance in last week’s game against Huddersfield” as the reason for McGuire’s dismissal. (Round 17: Castleford 12-30 Huddersfield). Sure, Castleford were poor against the Giants, but was it a performance worthy of a sacking? Well, it’s subjective. I certainly didn’t think so. Key defensive errors and an inability to convert field position into points led to Cas’ loss, but the stats show that they were well in the game. With 51% possession, 81% completion, fewer errors than Huddersfield (11-12) and fewer missed tackles (28-38), Cas certainly weren’t outplayed as Jepson’s comment seems to imply. Although they may have been slight, the Tigers were also showing signs of improvement in the four rounds before their loss to Huddersfield: they ran Warrington close (24-34), scared Wigan (20-26), and beat Hull FC (22-14). So, yes, the performance against the Giants would have been disappointing, and a 4-14 record is far from ideal, but to claim that it signals the need for a “change of direction” is just bizarre. Where did Jepson expect Cas to be after less than a season under McGuire? Apart from the remarkable period under Daryl Powell, they have been serial cellar dwellers and don’t have a Derek Beaumont-like figure to propel them up the ladder. Cas are precisely where they should be, and expecting more would be unrealistic. Change needs time, so it’s hard to describe McGuire’s dismissal as anything other than impulsive, given that nine months ago, Jepson was excited about “Danny's ambition, his determination, and his technical knowledge of the game” after he was appointed to be the “change of direction” after the sacking of Craig Lingard. Having two changes of direction in less than a calendar year demonstrates a total lack of long-term thinking at The Jungle. However, having two changes of direction in less than a calendar year, and not consulting your new Director of Rugby (Chris Chester), who was hired to provide long-term strategy, on the second, is plain crazy. If Cas continue to follow this Jepsonian strategy of non-strategic impulse, then this cycle of ‘change of directions’ will continue because, regardless of who is hired as McGuire’s successor, and regardless of who Cas sign for the 2026 season, the team will not be afforded the time to grow, develop, and improve.

Cas have one of the worst attacks in Super League and score only 16.56 points per game on average. Several factors explain this, but fundamentally, the Tigers regularly lose the field position battle, which means they do not have the opportunity to attack for sustained periods. Though the ‘Play The Ball In Opposition 20’ statistic doesn’t give the whole picture, the fact that Cas have had 145 fewer than their oppositions this year does demonstrate their struggle in generating attacking phases of play. Unusually, errors do not play a role: Castleford have made 161 errors this year, which is only 13 more than Leigh, who have made the fewest in Super League. Neither, necessarily, does being clinical. With 53 tries so far in 2025, they have scored more times than Catalans (45) and Huddersfield (38). The fact that Cas only use 6.18 play the balls in their opposition’s 20 per try is also a much more potent figure than Catalans’ 8.84, Huddersfield’s 9.53, and Salford’s 14.08. The Tigers are somewhat behind Hull KR in terms of clinicality (4.65), but they have a significantly more efficient attack than the other three sides in the bottom four. (I know that this measure isn’t quite right because it assumes that every try is the result of a play the ball from inside the opposition's 20, but with Super League not publishing any more advanced statistics, it’s the best I can reasonably do!) All of this leads to the conclusion that for Castleford to improve their attack, they must create more opportunities to attack. To do that, they must improve in yardage.

On face value, though, Castleford’s yardage stats stack up quite nicely: their 20,692 total metres this season is almost identical to Play-Off chasing Hull FC despite having over 150 less carries, and, on the granular level, they make more metres per carry (6.91) than every other team in the league, other than Leigh (6.92) and Hull KR (7.02). However, these statistics are too general: being able to make centimetres more than other teams every carry evidently doesn’t automatically make you a better team; otherwise, the Tigers would be one of the league’s leading teams. To identify the area where Cas can improve, the statistics require further scrutiny. Doing so reveals a more specific thesis: to create more attacking opportunities, Castleford must improve their front row’s yardage. As the graph below shows, Castleford’s props (which I have defined as anyone who has started a league game at prop, according to the Rugby League Project) have cumulatively played more games than any other team’s. This is because several of their props (Joe Westerman and George Lawler, for example) regularly play in other positions. In theory, then, Castleford’s props have had more opportunity to make metres, and they have made slightly above average. However, they have failed. On average, the Tigers’ props only make 57.96 metres, which is significantly below the 70-metre average for Super League front rowers.

With the quantity of games played by Castleford’s props, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect at least another 1000 metres. Without the effective ‘attack-from-anywhere’ philosophy of Leeds, and because they don’t dominate games in the same fashion as Wigan, Cas’ best chance of scoring is by attacking from good field position. The front rowers contribute to this because when they dominate in yardage and make good metres, it generates a quick play the ball, which in turn fractures and creates space for others to exploit.

Although he hasn’t, to my knowledge, commented on what positions he wants to strengthen, Chester has described qualities that are essential for metre-eating front rowers when laying out his recruitment strategy: “It’s been based around toughness, leg speed and resilience.” So, who should Castleford sign? Signing a couple of props that fit Chester’s brief will undoubtedly help to achieve the all-important field position, as will a hooker who can take advantage of the subsequent ruck speed and ruck chaos. So, here are my suggestions as to who should fulfil the brief. The suggestions do not respond to rumour and stem solely from my observations and data about who I think will improve Castleford’s team. In short, I am not speculating about who Castleford will sign; I am merely suggesting who I think they should sign.

Wiremu Grieg - Parramatta Eels

If I had written this article two or three seasons ago, the notion that Greig could sign for Castleford would have been preposterous. In 2022, he debuted for the Māori All-Stars, despite having only played 2 NRL games. In the following year, he played 17 games for the Eels, providing punch, aggression and impact off the bench. Since then, Greig’s career has faltered. He played 7 first-grade games last year and has fallen totally out of favour with new coach Jason Ryles, spending the entire 2025 season in reserve grade. As a result, Greig has been offered to Super League teams, and I think he would be the perfect addition to the Cas pack. Greig is a high-impact player: despite only averaging 42 minutes per game this season, he averages 121 metres per game, well above the average of a Castleford prop this season. Greig is very much a vertical style of prop. He isn’t much of a ball-player, and his carries don’t contain much deception: he relies on his size (116kg) and aggression to smash into the defensive line, causing chaos with quick play the balls and offloads. In many ways, then, he is a more efficient Brad Singleton, which is useful because front rowers are best viewed as a unit. This is because props are unlikely to have a singular impact on the result of a game; their job is to get others into position to influence the outcome. That’s why I focused more on how many metres Castleford’s props make, rather than each prop individually. Being able to replace Singleton with a more explosive, more impactful player of the same profile would be devastating for defences. It would undoubtedly help to create more attacking opportunities for the Tigers, which is why Greig is almost a must-sign for Castleford, in my opinion.

Jack Ormondroyd - Salford Red Devils

In Haruki Murakami’s Kafka On The Shore, he writes, “When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in.” That quote describes Ormondroyd’s experience at Salford this season to a tee: it has been, by far, his best season. Ormondroyd’s game is based on effort. Effort is hard to quantify, but the fact that he has made 139 marker tackles at an average of 8 per game does hint at Ormondroyd’s effectiveness at effort plays, as do the long minutes that he has been playing out of necessity. Regardless of how well they are playing at Salford, every Red Devils player has to be considered available. Even though Ormondroyd’s 49.41 metres per game is below the Castleford props’ average per game, he would still add a lot to the Tigers’ pack. Firstly, Ormondroyd hasn’t been making many metres because none of the Salford players are. They are dominated in nearly every game they play, making it incredibly difficult to gain yardage. Secondly, the fact that Ormondroyd’s game is based on effort plays would free the other props to front-load their energy into yardage. Kick pressures, marker pressures, and kick chase leads are Ormondroyd’s bread and butter, so the fact that other props wouldn’t have to exert themselves as much in those areas would theoretically mean that they are more able to make more metres. As I said above, front rows are jigsaw puzzles, so although Ormondroyd may not individually contribute as much to field position as Greig would, he does add to the other props’ ability to do so. At the age of 33, Ormondroyd would be a short-term option for Castleford, but I think his ability to improve the yardage plays of his fellow props would make him a tremendous addition to the Tigers’ pack.

Oliver Pascoe - Ipswich Jets

Why do Cas need a hooker? Liam Horne has been an excellent addition to the squad over the last few years: he is a tidy, consistent, all-action type of hooker. However, with only 12 runs from dummy half, 2 clean breaks, and 342 metres, Horne isn’t necessarily the type of hooker who can take full advantage of a more dominant pack. I’m not convinced that Cain Robb is either. However, hookers often work in pairs, and a run-happy hooker who can complement Horne’s game would bring more balance to the Tigers’ squad. Ironically, Judah Rimbu profiles perfectly in this role: despite playing behind the current Tigers pack, he made 8.84 metres per carry across his nine Super League appearances. For hookers, such a high average gain does suggest an ability to exploit the space created by quick play the balls. Pascoe also profiles well. He has played 59 Hostplus Cup (formerly the Queensland Cup) games over the past five seasons, but doesn’t appear close to promotion to the Titans’ NRL squad because he hasn't featured in a single Pre-Season Challenge game. Some may interpret this as an issue, but at the age of 25, I view it as a sign that Pascoe would probably be pretty gettable. The Hostplus and New South Wales Cups have proven fertile recruitment grounds for Super League teams, as many reserve graders in Australia are playing at a Super League standard. Pascoe is one of these players. Like Horne, Pascoe does all the basics well: he boasts a 93.5% tackle efficiency, his service is solid to both sides, and he can play long minutes, averaging 76 per game so far this season. However, where Horne’s game lacks slightly, Pascoe’s excels. He is a dynamic ball-carrier who exploits the ruck speed that the likes of Iszac Fa’asuamaleaui and Blake Lenehan generate, as shown by his 9 line breaks, average of 89 metres per game, and 10 tries. If Cas were to sign Pascoe, then there would be a slight question mark over whether or not he could adapt to playing fewer minutes in order to work in tandem with Horne. I see no problem: having a fresh Pascoe come on to run at tiring defenders would only likely increase the impact that he can have.

My Castleford Team

1. Tex Hoy

2. Innes Senior

3. Zac Cini

4. Sam Wood

5. Josh Simm

6. Daejarn Asi

7. Chris Atkin

8. Jack Ormondroyd

9. Liam Horne

10. Brad Singleton

11. Jeremiah Simbiken

12. Alex Mellor

13. Joe Stimson

14. Oliver Pascoe

15. George Lawler

16. Wiremu Greig

17. Joe Westerman