Castleford Tigers have found their head coach in the shape of 37-year-old Ryan Carr. Despite his age, he comes with a wealth of experience across the UK and Australia, and will look to redevelop a sorrowful, dampened Tigers team into one that can challenge the league’s best.
Carr has been appointed on a three-year deal, as he becomes the fifth permanent head coach of the club since Daryl Powell left at the end of 2021. Chris Chester, the Tigers’ Director of Rugby, said he expects the team he has built for 2026 to be at the very least competing for playoffs, and the new boss faces a big task if he is to achieve that feat.
Castleford have failed to reach the final stages in the past six seasons, after being nilled by Salford Red Devils on their way to a first Grand Final in 2019.
Since then it has been misery after misery, season after season, with bottom half finishes becoming the norm for the West Yorkshire side. However, with a new coach comes new hope, and Tigers fans will be praying that the Australian will be the one to turn their club around.
Achieving that would be a complex and long-term task, but here are the three biggest things on Carr’s to-do list once he arrives in November for pre-season.
Three biggest things Castleford Tigers’ boss must address:
Clear out the dead wood:
The fact that a number of coaches have taken charge over the last four years and nothing managed to make a difference implies that maybe it wasn’t down to the coaches that the team were failing so much. For too long, Castleford have held on to players until they were past their sell by date, and have become stagnant in making the right recruitment decisions.
Players brought in for this season, such as Judah Rimbu and Kieran Hudson both left the club half way through their first season, whilst Jeremiah Simbiken, Zac Cini and Daejarn Asi have failed to make the desired impact to the side.
The Tigers currently have eight players without a contract at the end of the season, including Joe Westerman and George Griffin, but we could see even more than that exit the club, as Carr and Chester bring in a whole new squad ready for next season.
Forge a new culture:
Alongside a new squad, there needs to be a new culture at the club. A fighting mentality with players who understand what it means to play for the badge. Their drubbing against Leeds epitomised everything currently wrong with the club, as far too many players lacked effort, with the Rhinos being allowed to dominate with ease.
The pack at Castleford is far too light to allow the likes of Asi and Hoy any creative freedom. Their mid-season recruits of Tom Amone and Joe Stimson have improved the current props, however Amone will depart at the end of the season, meaning they need to heavily recruit.
Bringing in a young, ambitious coach is certainly the right way to go about things, he just needs the correct players working under him that are committed to the cause.
Revitalise the attack:
Castleford are averaging 15 points per game this season, after averaging 15.75 in 2024 and 12 in 2023. Their lack of attacking ability has cost them hugely over recent years, and it needs to improve quickly if they are to compete. The likes of Asi and Hoy have shown potential at times, however they need the quality additions around them to take the pressure off.
The pack goes a long way to setting a platform for the attack, and bringing in those additions to bolster the forwards will help the current playmakers. Asi has 19 try contributions in 22 matches so far, with Hoy having 12 in 13 matches. These could be a lot higher if the quality around them was good enough.
