Ryan Carr is only just getting started into life as Castleford Tigers head coach, but his pre-season preparations have already been dealt a blow.

Carr joins the Tigers on a three-year deal, and succeeds Danny McGuire as permanent boss of the club. Following the Leeds Rhinos legend’s sacking, Chris Chester took control of proceedings for the second half of the year, as they ended the campaign 11th in the table.

Castleford have now failed to reach the play-offs in six seasons, with their last finals appearance coming in 2019, where they finished fifth and reached the semi-finals.

Since then, the club have had seven coaches, including Daryl Powell who was the last coach to take the club to the latter stages of the competition.

Tigers fans have not had a lot to cheer for in recent times, but Carr’s addition has certainly brought a new lease of life to the club, as he hops to change the fortunes of the 2017 League Leaders around.

Signings such as Blake Taaffe, Mikaele Ravalawa and Tom Weaver, among other, have added quality to the squad, as well as experience. The emergence of youngsters such as Fletcher Rooney, Jenson Windley and Alfie Lindsey all bode well for the long-term future of the squad, too.

However, over the past week, Castleford have been dealt two major blows to their off-season prep.

Last week, it was confirmed that the ‘Benidorm Bash’ event was cancelled. The Tigers were set to face off against Championship side Oldham in Spain, but that fixture has been cancelled due to a lack of communication between the clubs and the event organisers.

Secondly, earlier this week Featherstone Rovers announced that they would be entering administration, and that their 2026 future remains uncertain.  That means both their place in the Championship next year, as well as any other matches they have scheduled are in limbo, which has an affect on their West Yorkshire rivals.

Carr’s first game in charge was due to be against Featherstone on December 28, in a pre-season friendly, however that game has now been postponed, with the club confirming that in a statement. It read:

“Following [Tuesday’s] announcement from Featherstone Rovers, our game on 27th December has been postponed to a later date, with more information to follow in the coming days.

“Everyone at Castleford Tigers wishes the players, staff, and supporters of Featherstone well during this difficult time.”

With two of their warm-up games removed from the diary, it is less than ideal preparation for Carr, who will have used those games to see how his new combinations fared ahead of the new season.

Castleford will have at least one pre-season game, with them taking on St Helens on January 25, in aid of Matty Lees’ testimonial.

The fixture against Oldham is said to be rearranged, with both teams working on an alternative date and venue to play the game.