Castleford Tigers assistant coach Luke Robinson insists that there is plenty of reasons to be excited for 2027 at the club, though he’s conceded that there is still a season to finish.
Thursday night saw the Tigers limp to a 32-22 defeat against a Bradford side that had won one game in twelve with the performance one in which Robinson admitted his side displayed ‘anxiousness’ as they allowed errors to compound one another.
They’d win the second half and speaking in his post-match presser, Robinson argued that it appears to be a trait that the Tigers can perform when the pressure is off – something that has seen them knock off teams such as Wigan and Leeds, whilst also seeing them win the second half in games that were already gone.
“There’s a team in there that can obviously cause the top sides problems,” he argued.
“Whether it’s a pressure thing and when the pressure is not on, they can perform a little bit better and when the big games where they’re not expected to get anything, they come up trumps.
“That’s not how rugby works, you’ve got to perform each and every week.”
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‘Exciting’ things happening at Castleford Tigers for 2027
Whilst next week’s game away to Huddersfield Giants, Robinson’s former team, is a chance to restore some pride heading into the off-season, it won’t be that telling on 2027 given that the squad is set for major changes.
Robinson confirmed: “There’s going to be a lot of change within the squad. The squad itself, there’s going to be a lot of change and there’s obviously a lot of change within the coaching staff.
“I’m going to be one assistant coach, there’s another coming in. There’s going to be a new head coach so there’s going to be a lot of change within the club.
“There’s going to be a lot of experience put with that playing group so I’ve said it numerous times, you can see the rainbow really.”
Expanding on that, Robinson said: “There’s some good stuff happening off the field that Martin [Jepson, owner] and other people are trying to do in the community. They seem like they’re ambitious in the signings they’ve made for next year, signing genuine bona fide winners that have played at the very highest level.
“I feel like it’s going to be exciting but this year is not over yet and we need to hope we finish with a spirited performance, not only for yourself which you should always do, but for your teammates, for the fans, and for the club.”
That excitement might be felt internally but the fans have been very vocal in their discontent this year and understandably so, and Robinson was asked about the importance of getting those fans back on side.
“I feel it can be really exciting at Castleford,” he said.
“They’ve got a really strong fan base. You sort of live and die by rugby league if you live in Cas and I think once we can start playing some good rugby, get them on side, and give them something to cheer about, then I think it will be really good next year.”
