Castleford Tigers forward George Lawler returned to action yesterday for the first time following a bleed on the brain, as he got 60 minutes playing for the club’s reserves against Bradford Bulls reserves.
It’s been a whirlwind few months for the former Hull KR man who it was confirmed had suffered a seizure in the middle of the night back in April, leaving him with a small bleed on the brain and obviously therefore unable to play.
At the time, the club released the following statement: “Castleford Tigers can confirm that George Lawler suffered a seizure through the night at home and was taken to hospital.
“Scans have shown George has a small bleed on his brain. He’s awake and feeling well. He will be spending the weekend in hospital for observation and will undergo further testing and specialist involvement.”
That recovery went well and Lawler returned to training earlier this month and is now back to playing, albeit with the reserves but he’s keen to be selected by Craig Lingard for Castleford’s game on Friday night against St Helens.
George Lawler angling for first team return after reserves stint
Castleford Tigers players George Lawler & Alex Mellor dejected after their side’s loss to Leeds.
Castleford Tigers put out a strong reserves side that features several first-team talents including Muizz Mustapha, Luis Johnson and of course George Lawler. The Tigers won 42-16 but the biggest cheer of the day was certainly for Lawler as he left the field.
Addressing the fans in a video posted to the club’s social media, the 28-year-old said: “It’s nice to see, I’ve had a lot of love from the Rugby League community, especially the Cas fans. Everyone at the club has been fantastic and it was nice to get a little clap when I went off at the end.”
He’s made 50 appearances for the Tigers since his move from Hull KR but returning to the field yesterday was a momentous occasion and one that he’s hoping will allow him to kick on and help the club in the second half of the season.
On his performance, Lawler explained: “It feels great. It’s nice to get some miles back in the legs and I’ll hopefully get picked for next week.
“The more minutes now then the easier it’ll be to get the minutes back up when I’m playing first team so I really enjoyed it today and it was a good performance all round.
🗣️ George Lawler speaking after his return to the field today!
Great to see him back out there!#COYF pic.twitter.com/FT6one3JTs
— Castleford Tigers (@CTRLFC) June 29, 2024
News of George Lawler being named in the squad for the Tigers’ reserves side had been met with huge positivity from fans who had welcomed his return. Should he feature on Friday night then that same warmth will be seen at The Totally Wicked Stadium where the Tigers take on St Helens.
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