The 2024 season was the Castleford Tigers' 99th season in the Rugby Football League and their 17th consecutive season in the top flight of English rugby league. The club competed in the 2024 Super League and the 2024 Challenge Cup.
This was Castleford's first and only season under Craig Lingard as head coach. The team was jointly captained by Paul McShane and Joe Westerman. They finished the Super League season in 10th place.
Kits Supplier: Oxen Main sponsor: CBR Engineering
Season overview After a poor 2023 season where they were drawn into a relegation scrap with Wakefield, Castleford's 11th-placed finish narrowly secured a position in the Super League for 2024. The head coach role had been left vacant after the expiry of Danny Ward's short-term deal. On 17 October 2023, it was announced that former assistant Craig Lingard had been appointed, becoming the club's fourth permanent head coach within 12 months. Danny McGuire additionally joined from Hull KR as the new assistant coach. Joe Westerman was named co-captain alongside Paul McShane.
In the offseason, the playing squad underwent a large turnover with a focus on reducing average age. Departures included mainstays Nathan Massey and Greg Eden along with senior players such as Gareth Widdop, Niall Evalds and Jordan Turner. Under the new IMG grading system, league status would no longer be solely dependent on table position, so the team operated with a reduced playing budget as the club prioritised off-field improvements. Accordingly, the Tigers were widely predicted to compete with newly promoted London for the 'wooden spoon'. On the eve of the season, their proposals for an upgrade of Wheldon Road were approved by the council.
Castleford began the season poorly, falling to defeats against highly-rated Wigan, Salford and Warrington in the opening rounds. After a heavy loss to Huddersfield in round 4, Lingard said the team's capitulation was unacceptable and moved poor performers to the reserves. The team showed improved resilience despite defeat in the following round at Catalans, and they saw off Championship side Batley to advance in the Challenge Cup. However, they were unable to break down Leeds in round 6, with first-half control not being converted into points by their blunt attack; this sixth consecutive league loss marked Castleford's worst start to a season since 2004.
The Tigers secured their first league win of the year against Salford in round 7, with Innes Senior notably scoring four tries. However, with injury problems mounting and fifteen players unavailable, Castleford crashed out of the cup with a 54-point loss to Wigan. In April, the club announced a host of midseason signings including Tex Hoy, Louis Senior and Corey Hall. Another league defeat to Wigan was followed by an impressive 40–0 win against London, and a late comeback against Leigh secured a thrilling draw in round 10. Castleford's hit-and-miss performances continued over the following weeks, when they were trounced by St Helens, won against table rivals Hull (with Hoy scoring the club's try of the season), and were comfortably beaten by Leeds.
June saw an upturn in the team's performances, with battling displays in consecutive games against the eventual top two, Wigan and Hull KR – only beaten by one penalty goal and one drop goal respectively. Centre Sam Wood's impressive form earned him an call up, but he suffered an injury on international duty that ruled him out for the season. In round 16, Castleford edged a low-scoring affair to earn an away win against St Helens for only the second time in 34 years. They then duly beat bottom side London, before the standout performance of the year against Catalans secured a third straight victory with two tries from Liam Horne. Lingard said the team was "unrecognisable" from the start of the year, having surpassed their 2023 points tally by July. Their streak was brought to an end by two hard-fought defeats at the hands of play-off hopefuls Salford and Leigh.
In round 21, Castleford sustained their heaviest defeat in three months in their visit to table-topping Hull KR. They went into their Magic Weekend fixture against Huddersfield just a point adrift of their 9th-placed opponents, however a meagre loss diminished hopes of moving up the table. Lingard began to rotate the team in the remaining rounds, experimenting with different combinations and giving minutes to academy players like Jenson Windley, Fletcher Rooney and Akim Matvejev. A flat defeat to Warrington was followed by a high-scoring win against Hull, where Rowan Milnes notched 19 points. Castleford fell to substantial losses against Leigh, St Helens, and Huddersfield in the final three rounds of the season, dampening the improved mood around the club, although their 10th-placed finish represented a marginal improvement on the previous campaign. Alex Mellor was named Tigers Player of the Year, and Liam Horne was voted Players' Player of the Year.
First-team squad
Transfers and loans
Transfers in
Player From Contract Date Ref.17 Nixon Putt Central Queensland Capras2 years29 September 202311 Elie El-Zakhem North Sydney Bears2 years29 September 202321 Sylvester Namo Townsville Blackhawks2 years1 October 202318 Josh Hodson Batley Bulldogs2 years2 October 20232 Josh Simm Wynnum Manly Seagulls2 years3 October 20234 Sam Wood Hull Kingston Rovers3 years4 October 20231 Luke Hooley Leeds Rhinos2 years5 October 202316 Rowan Milnes Hull Kingston Rovers2 years8 October 202326 Samy Kibula Batley Bulldogs1 year19 October 202330 Luis Johnson Hull Kingston Rovers1 year18 December 202332 Daniel Hindmarsh-Takyi Northern Pride2 years5 February 202434 Tex Hoy Hull F.C.1 year20 April 2024
Loans in
Player From Loan type Arrival Return Ref.5 Innes Senior Huddersfield GiantsSeason-long11 October 2023 33 Louis Senior Hull Kingston RoversTwo-week, rolling16 April 2024 rowspan="2" Season-long23 April 202435 Corey Hall Hull Kingston RoversSeason-long23 April 202420 September 202436 Sam Eseh Wigan WarriorsTwo-week23 April 20241 May 2024Two-week7 May 202421 May 202437 Matty English Huddersfield GiantsTwo-week, rolling12 June 202415 July 2024
Transfers out
Player To Contract Date Ref.16 Adam Milner Huddersfield Giants1 year25 May 20231 Niall Evalds Hull Kingston Rovers2 years23 August 20233 Jordan Turner Oldham2 years23 August 202314 Nathan Massey Featherstone Rovers1 year12 September 20232 Greg Eden Halifax Panthers2 years19 September 202323 Suaia Matagi Doncaster1 year19 September 202315 Alex Sutcliffe Doncaster1 year20 September 202327 Bailey Dawson Dewsbury Rams1 year20 September 202329 Kieran Hudson Leeds Rhinos1 year20 September 202330 Jacob Hookem Dewsbury Rams1 year20 September 202335 Ilikaya Mafi Doncaster1 year20 September 202311 Kenny Edwards Mackay Cutters2 years20 September 202326 Elliot Wallis Huddersfield Giants4 years11 October 20236 Gareth Widdop Halifax Panthers1 year18 October 202333 Aaron Willis Midlands Hurricanes1 year22 October 2023— Jacques O'Neill colspan="2" 22 October 202327 Albert Vete colspan="2" 19 April 202422 Charbel Tasipale Western Suburbs Magpies½ year24 June 2024
Loans out
Player To Loan type Departure Return Ref.29 George Hill WhitehavenTwo-week, rolling27 March 202410 April 20243 Jack Broadbent Hull Kingston RoversSeason-long23 April 202432 Daniel Hindmarsh-Takyi WhitehavenTwo-week, rolling26 April 202428 June 20241 Luke Hooley Featherstone RoversTwo-week3 May 202417 May 20246 Danny Richardson Hull Kingston RoversSeason-long9 May 202430 Luis Johnson Featherstone RoversTwo-week13 June 202427 June 202426 Samy Kibula Featherstone RoversSeason-long26 July 20247 October 2024
Dual registration
Castleford also agreed dual registration partnerships with Batley Bulldogs in the Championship and Newcastle Thunder in League One.
Club Player Batley Bulldogs 1 Luke Hooley 12 6 2 1 29 17 Nixon Putt 6 0 0 0 0 20 Muizz Mustapha 2 0 0 0 0 26 Samy Kibula 6 0 0 0 0 29 George Hill 1 0 0 0 0 Newcastle Thunder 17 Nixon Putt 1 0 0 0 0 21 Sylvester Namo 1 0 0 0 0 32 Dan Hindmarsh 1 0 0 0 0 — Alfie Dean 3 0 0 0 0 — Jaiden Linford 1 0 0 0 0
Sources: RLRKC – Batley Bulldogs 2024 & RLRKC – Newcastle Thunder 2024
Pre-season friendlies
Castleford's first fixture of 2024 was against Keighley Cougars, announced in November 2023. They also faced the London Broncos and the Huddersfield Giants, both announced in December.
Date Opposition H/A Venue Result Score Tries Goals Drop goals Source Sun 14 January Keighley Cougars A Cougar Park 54–0 Simm, Tasipale, I. Senior (2), Hodson (2), Miller, Horne, Johnson, Qareqare Hooley (7/10) Sun 21 January London Broncos H Wheldon Road 14–14 Wood, I. Senior (2) Richardson (1/2), Hooley (0/1) Sun 4 February Huddersfield Giants H Wheldon Road 20–14 Watts, Wood (2), Simm Hooley (2/4)
Super League
Results On 23 November 2023, the Super League fixtures were announced. All fixtures are subject to change, and matches from round 16 onwards may be rescheduled for broadcast on Sky Sports.
League table
Challenge Cup
As a Super League club, Castleford entered the 2024 Challenge Cup in the Sixth Round, scheduled to be played in late March. In the Sixth Round draw on 11 March, they drew the Batley Bulldogs. In the draw for the quarter-finals on 25 March, Castleford were paired against the Wigan Warriors.
Player statistics
Summary
+ Appearances and points in all competitions Player 1 Luke Hooley 11 1 3 0 10 0 0 2 Josh Simm 7 5 0 0 20 0 0 3 Jack Broadbent 10 1 0 0 4 0 0 4 Sam Wood 16 3 0 0 12 0 0 5 Innes Senior 29 17 0 0 68 0 0 6 Danny Richardson 5 0 11 0 22 0 0 7 Jacob Miller 26 3 0 0 12 0 0 8 Liam Watts 22 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 Paul McShane 11 2 2 0 12 0 0 10 George Lawler 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 Elie El-Zakhem 26 2 0 0 8 0 0 12 Alex Mellor 26 5 0 0 20 1 0 13 Joe Westerman 26 3 0 0 12 0 0 14 Liam Horne 27 4 0 0 16 2 1 15 George Griffin 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 16 Rowan Milnes 24 8 51 1 135 0 0 17 Nixon Putt 7 0 0 0 0 1 0 18 Josh Hodson 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 Sam Hall 15 1 0 0 4 0 0 20 Muizz Mustapha 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 Sylvester Namo 15 1 0 0 4 3 0 22 Charbel Tasipale 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 Jason Qareqare 17 6 0 0 24 0 0 24 Cain Robb 18 0 0 0 0 1 0 25 Brad Martin 10 1 0 0 4 0 0 26 Samy Kibula 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 Albert Vete 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 Will Tate 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 29 George Hill 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 30 Luis Johnson 10 1 0 0 4 0 0 31 Fletcher Rooney 3 2 0 0 8 0 0 32 Dan Hindmarsh 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 33 Louis Senior 4 5 0 0 20 0 0 34 Tex Hoy 17 7 0 0 28 0 0 35 Corey Hall 14 2 0 0 8 0 0 36 Sam Eseh 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 37 Matty English 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 38 Jenson Windley 5 1 0 0 4 1 0 39 Akim Matvejev 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
Source: RLRKC – Castleford Tigers 2024
Appearances
+ Positions key: FB = Fullback RW = Right wing RC = Right centre LC = Left centre LW = Left wing SO = Stand-off SH = Scrum half PR = Prop HK = Hooker SR = Second row LF = Loose forward R = Replacement 18 = 18th man (* = Non-playing)