Castleford Tigers have had an off-season of transformation with 13 signings made but how will that translate to on-field success in 2026?
It’s been a tough few years for the Tigers who last made the Super League play-offs in 2019, meaning their play-off drought is the longest of any Super League club, barring the three promoted teams.
Since Darryl Powell’s exit in 2021, there have been five head coaches with Chris Chester also working as an interim and Ryan Carr now confirmed as the sixth.
Off-field changes have seen Martin Jepson, who is clearly backing the club, take over and that’s evident by this recruitment cycle, but Carr actually needs time to implement change, something that none of the previous coaches, barring Lee Radford, have had.
Carr comes in with plenty of credit from his work down under, as well as what he did in England with Featherstone Rovers and as an assistant at Leeds Rhinos, and it’s fair to say he is their best piece of recruitment this off-season.
However, this heavy recruitment cycle does have some question marks over it and it is down to Carr to make this squad perform beyond its individual parts if the Tigers are to have any hopes of play-offs.
Assessing Castleford Tigers’ 2026 recruitment
What the bookies think
The bookmakers don’t fancy the Tigers to break their play-off drought with Castleford priced at 6/1 to make the top six, the largest of any non-promoted team, whilst they’re also deemed a 6/1 chance to finish bottom with Huddersfield Giants closely priced at 8/1.
Last season saw Castleford and Huddersfield effectively battle it out to finish 10th with Salford resigned to 12th, and that could be the case again this year with the three promoted sides expected to finish in the bottom three.
Possible pack problems?
Looking at Castleford’s recruitment on first glance would suggest the Tigers won’t be in such a position as the NRL names jump out, however, the majority of those overseas signings are in the backs, creating the sense that the club have built their squad backwards.
A strong pack doesn’t mask a terrible backline but it will give that backline the chance to play and the good ball territory to play in, whereas a bad pack often can’t make the metres to allow a good backline the territory or chances it needs.
Castleford’s pack is far from bad but they’re perhaps lacking a star name, such as last year’s loanee Tom Amone, or the depth that they might crave to run a committee of players. Renouf Atoni arrives as their big-name prop signing, joining George Lawler, Brad Singleton, and Sam Hall whilst Jimmy Beckett has also been added.
Second-row starters Alex Mellor and Jordan Lane offer genuine quality with the pair being truly underrated and they’ll be supported by recruits Brock Greacen and Jack Ashworth, who add to a pack featuring veteran Joe Westerman, versatile forward Joe Stimson, and trio Cain Robb, George Hill and Ramon Silva.
Concerns would be that Ashworth carries forth plenty of penalty points from 2025 meaning he will walk the disciplinary tightrope all season whilst Joe Westerman has recently turned 36 and is amongst the oldest players in Super League. Any injury in the forwards, which is inevitable, looks set to put Ryan Carr’s pack in a tough spot.
How Castleford Tigers could line up in Round One
The backs puzzle
Whilst a handful of the club’s signings came in the forwards, the majority came in the backs to the point where you question if it was overkill and where some recruits may fit.
Obvious cases such as Blake Taaffe and Tom Weaver slot straight into the spine, whilst it would seem they’ve also added four brand new starting backs in Krystian Mapapalangi (Wests Tigers), Darnell McIntosh (Leigh Leopards), Mikaele Ravalawa (St George Illawarra Dragons) and Semi Valemei (North Queensland Cowboys).
McIntosh has been handed the number four, suggesting he will play centre, with Valemei and Ravalawa on the wing and Mapapalangi joining this past week amid reports of Zac Cini’s future being uncertain.
On paper, that quartet are great but with the likes of Louis Senior, Jason Qareqare and youngster Alfie Lindsey, as well as contracted centre Zac Cini also waiting in the wings, it feels as though some of that investment could have gone into the pack. Alternatively, a domestic back of perhaps slightly lesser quality but likely far lower wages could have been added, allowing for one more body or one huge star to join the pack.
Signing four outside backs, including three from the NRL, in one recruitment window certainly feels like overkill. The issue isn’t the players who have been recruited, all of whom are talented, but the practice of seemingly prioritising the backs over the pack.
The verdict
All those fears can be countered by the fact that Chris Chester has an excellent track record when recruiting and the club are clearly happy with what they’ve done but even so, it takes time to blood in 13 new recruits, especially when three will feature in your starting spine (Blake Taaffe, Tom Weaver and Liam Hood). Moreover, they have a whole new set of outside backs, for whom chemistry is key both in offence and defence.
Castleford’s squad is certainly better than last year but so are many others in Super League and the Tigers might struggle to finish any higher in the table in truth. Positional rivals Huddersfield haven’t recruited as well but they have a full healthy squad for once and even with their injury-depleted side of 2025, they managed to finish above the Tigers.
We’ll know more by round six, at which point the Tigers will have faced Huddersfield, Toulouse and Bradford, but it’s hard to look at the current squad and circumstances around it, mainly blooding in 13 recruits, and see how the Tigers finish any higher than 10th.
If that is the case then the key is to stay the course with Ryan Carr, a coach who can take this club back to the play-offs if given the time. A more targeted and less busy recruitment ahead of the 2027 season would offer some much-needed continuity at the Jungle, something they’ve not had since Darryl Powell’s exit.
One thing is for sure given the club’s recruitment and that’s that Castleford have come to play in 2026 and have some genuine strike in their backs. The pressure is now on the pack to lay the platform for those backs to perform.
Castleford Tigers’ Ins and Outs for 2026
Ins (13): Jack Ashworth (Hull FC), Renouf Atoni (Wakefield Trinity), Jimmy Beckett (Featherstone Rovers), Aidan Doolan (Barrow Raiders), Brock Greacen (Newcastle Knights), Liam Hood (Wakefield Trinity), Jordan Lane (Hull FC), Krystian Mapapalangi (Wests Tigers), Darnell McIntosh (Leigh Leopards), Mikaele Ravalawa (St George Illawarra Dragons), Blake Taafe (Canterbury Bulldogs), Semi Valemei (North Queensland Cowboys), Tom Weaver (Gold Coast Titans)
Outs (11): Aidan Doolan (Barrow Raiders – loan), Andy Djeukessi (Newcastle Thunder), George Griffin (Sheffield Eagles), Josh Hodson (Sheffield Eagles), Liam Horne (Leigh Leopards), Tex Hoy (TBC), Muizz Mustapha (Doncaster), Innes Senior (Leigh Leopards), Jeremiah Simbiken (London Broncos), Josh Simm (Catalans Dragons), Will Tate (Wakefield Trinity)
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