{"id":377104,"date":"2026-01-18T16:00:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T16:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/377104\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T16:00:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T16:00:10","slug":"castleford-tigers-testimonial-star-calls-for-change-at-the-top-after-demise-of-former-clubs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/377104\/","title":{"rendered":"Castleford Tigers’ testimonial star calls for change at the top after demise of former clubs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Brad\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The dramatic demise of Salford Red Devils and Featherstone Rovers is a warning to the rest of rugby league, according to a player who served both clubs.<\/p>\n

The Red Devils were liquidated last month after a year of turmoil on and off the field ended with them finishing bottom of Super League and being relegated to the second tier. A new club, Salford RLFC, was granted a place in the Championship later in December.<\/p>\n

In another blow for the sport, Rovers went into administration last month. The RFL ruled a subsequent takeover bid did not meet the necessary criteria and Featherstone were excluded from this year\u2019s Championship<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now at Castleford Tigers, prop Brad Singleton played for Rovers on dual-registration in 2018 and was at Salford from 2023-25.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the fate of both clubs, Singleton \u2013 who will lead Tigers in his testimonial game against Leeds Rhinos<\/a> at OneBore Stadium on Sunday \u2013 admitted: \u201cIt is a shame what has happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cYou don\u2019t want to see these teams disappear and I think it is a bit of a wake up call for rugby league, how these clubs are slowly disappearing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have the ideas, I am sure smarter people than me do, but something needs to change and something needs to improve.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like the rugby is exciting, but off the field, whether you are Championship or Super League, things need to be put in place \u2013 more security for the clubs, because I don\u2019t know what it looks like in 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Singleton admitted he was delighted to see a new Salford club rise from the ashes, stressing: \u201cI\u2019m pleased for the fanbase mainly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a lot of love there and they need to support someone. To keep the identity of Salford was probably important for the new consortium and it feels like they have done it, so hopefully that\u2019s the foundation for something great for that great club. It has been around for a long time and they have been successful in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

Singleton ready for huge year in Castleford Tigers\u2019 colours<\/p>\n

Singleton came through Rhinos\u2019 youth system to make his first team debut in 2011. After 178 appearances, the Cumbrian moved to Toronto Wolfpack in 2019 and joined Wigan Warriors the following year.<\/p>\n

Having been part of Rhinos\u2019 treble success in 2015 and won another Grand Final two years later, he helped Wigan to top spot in Super League in his first season there and got his hands on the Challenge Cup again in 2022.<\/p>\n

He linked up with Tigers midway through last season and \u2013 having been awarded a testimonial for services to the sport \u2013 is excited about the club\u2019s prospects under new coach Ryan Carr.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am in a great team with Cas who I feel have turned a corner this year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s their centenary year, they\u2019ve got a new badge, a new team and a new coach and it\u2019s a very exciting year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a great pre-season and we are fully prepared, excited and quietly confident in how we are going.\u201d<\/p>\n

Singleton\u2019s deal with Tigers is until the end of 2026, but he has no immediate plans to hang up his boots.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThis is the first time ever I\u2019ve entered my final year. I think it\u2019s a case of just enjoying it and taking each game as it is and then it looks after itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf, at the end of the year, I am going well and feeling great, I\u2019ll go round again. If that\u2019s not the case, I\u2019m sure there\u2019ll be other options.\u201d<\/p>\n

Check out the latest episode of The Serious About Rugby League Show on\u00a0our YouTube channel here.<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The dramatic demise of Salford Red Devils and Featherstone Rovers is a warning to the rest of rugby…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":377105,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-377104","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-rugby","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}