The 2023 season was the

Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England. They play their home games at Wheldon Road (currently known as the Mend-A-Hose Jungle for sponsorship reasons) and compete in the Super League, t ...

' 98th season in the

Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League (RFL) is the governing body for rugby league in England. Founded in 1895 as the Northern Rugby Football Union following 22 clubs resigning from the Rugby Football Union, it changed its name in 1922 to the Rugby Footb ...

and their 16th consecutive season in the top flight of English rugby league. The club competed in the 2023 Super League and the 2023 Challenge Cup. Castleford began the season under head coach Lee Radford, before he was sacked in March and replaced by his assistant Andy Last. Last himself was dismissed after five months in charge, with Danny Ward appointed for the remainder of the campaign. The team was captained by

Paul McShane Paul McShane may refer to: * Paul McShane (footballer) (born 1986), Irish football player * Paul McShane (rugby league) (born 1989), rugby league footballer See also *Paul Shane Paul Shane (19 June 1940 – 16 May 2013) was a British actor ...

, with Joe Westerman as interim in his absence. They finished the Super League season in 11th place, narrowly surviving a relegation battle with

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

Season overview

Having finished the 2022 season in 7th place, falling short of play-off qualification on the final day, Castleford recruited high-profile signings including

Gareth Widdop Gareth Edward Widdop (born 12 March 1989) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the Halifax Panthers in the RFL Championship. Widdop played at club level for the Melbourne Storm and the St. George Illawarra ...

, Jacob Miller and Albert Vete. Going into Lee Radford's second year as head coach, expectations were mixed: a new-look spine was an enticing prospect, however the Tigers squad also had the league's highest average age. Pre-season preparations were beset by coaching absences and disorganised, leaving the team on the back foot according to senior players Jordan Turner and

Kenny Edwards Kenneth Michael Edwards (February 10, 1946 – August 18, 2010) was an American singer, songwriter, bassist, guitarist, mandolinist, and session musician. He was a founding member of the Stone Poneys and Bryndle and a long-time collaborator ...

. In a poor start to the season, Castleford fell to defeats against

Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the t ...

and St Helens. A heavy loss to

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

in round 3 proved a tipping point, with Radford relieved of his first-team duties on 6 March. Assistant coach Andy Last took charge of the team on an interim basis, while the club began a recruitment process for a permanent successor. Centre

Jake Mamo Jake Mamo (born 6 June 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer, who plays as a er or for the Midlands Hurricanes in the RFL League 1. He previously played for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL, and Huddersfield Giants, Warr ...

also departed the squad on 15 March after announcing his retirement. The Tigers registered their first win of the season in round 5 against the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home games at Headingley Rugby Stadium, AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby lea ...

, in between miserable losses to

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

and

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

. After a further defeat away to

Catalans Catalans ( Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; ; ; or ) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citizens of Catalonia, a nationality and autono ...

, they secured a Rivals Round victory over

. On 19 April, after overseeing two wins from six matches in charge, Last was appointed full-time head coach on a two-and-a-half-year deal. Castleford came close against

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

and

Hull KR Hull Kingston Rovers (often abbreviated to Hull KR) are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park and compete in Super League, the top tier of B ...

, but ultimately entered into a six-match losing streak, including elimination from the

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

at the first time of asking in front of a decade-low home crowd. In May,

Craig Lingard Craig Lingard (born 11 December 1977) is an English rugby league coach and former professional rugby league footballer. He is the head-coach of Sheffield Eagles in the RFL Championship. Lingard played as a for the Batley Bulldogs in the Champ ...

was appointed as an assistant coach to Last. The

Magic Weekend The Magic Weekend (also known as the Betfred Magic Weekend for sponsorship reasons) is an annual event organised by the Rugby Football League in which an entire round of Super League matches is played over a weekend at a single stadium to promot ...

provided the occasion of their third victory, with Qareqare's try and Widdop's conversion completing a comeback over

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. A large loss to

followed, with captain

's season ended by a fractured forearm, although the Tigers consolidated with a win over out-of-form

. Positioned 11th in the table and with bottom placed

picking up form, another lengthy losing streak began to build up the pressure on Castleford. A host of signings, including Liam Horne,

Charbel Tasipale Charbel Tasipale is a Lebanon international rugby league footballer who plays as a forward or for the Newtown Jets in the NSW Cup. He was released from his contract with Castleford Tigers in June 2024, after returning home on compassionate gr ...

and

Blake Austin Blake Austin (born 1 February 1991) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for The Entrance Tigers in the Central Coast Division Rugby League in NSW, Australia. Austin previously played for the Canberra Raiders, Penrith Pant ...

, aimed to turn the tide back in Cas' favour - however, on 4 August, a comprehensive loss against

sent the Tigers bottom on points difference, with a number of fans staging a protest. That evening, the club announced that Last would depart with immediate effect. On 9 August, Castleford confirmed the appointment of Danny Ward as head coach on a deal until the end of the season, with Dane Dorahy joining as an assistant. The first fixture under the new staff saw a huge clash away at relegation rivals

, billed as the repeat of the 2006 'Battle of Belle Vue'. The Tigers started as underdogs but fought to a vital 28–12 victory, with Greg Eden scoring a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

. Now with the upper hand, a win against

in Castleford's final home game all but guaranteed survival. Despite sustaining extremely heavy defeats against

and

in the closing rounds, Castleford confirmed an 11th-placed finish, consigning

to the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

and bringing a close to a disastrous and disappointing season. Joe Westerman was named both Castleford Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year, and Jason Qareqare won a third consecutive Try of the Season award.

First-team squad

Transfers and loans

Transfers in

Loans in

Transfers out

Loans out

Dual registration

Castleford also agreed dual registration arrangements with the

Halifax Panthers The Halifax Panthers are a professional rugby league club in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. They play home games at The Shay and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Halifax Panthers have won the League Ch ...

in the

and the

Midlands Hurricanes The Midlands Hurricanes are a semi-professional rugby league club based in Birmingham, West Midlands, England. They were founded in 2021 and took over the professional franchise owned by Coventry Bears previously entering the third tier of th ...

in League 1. : ''Sources
RLRKC – Halifax Panthers 2023

RLRKC – Midlands Hurricanes 2023
'

Pre-season friendlies

Super League

Results

League table

Results summary

Challenge Cup

Results

Player statistics

Summary

: ''Source
RLRKC – Castleford Tigers 2023
'

Appearances

: ''Sources
RLRKC – Castleford Tigers 2023

'

References

External links

Castleford Tigers official website
{{2023 in rugby league Castleford Tigers seasons