Castleford Tigers
The Tigers play their home games at 'The Jungle' named after their former sponsor Jungle.com. After the company was bought by 'Argos' they removed all affiliation with the Tigers but the club decided to keep the name for marketing purposes. The ground was previous named after the road it is situated, 'Wheldon Road', and despite its decrepit style the ground is still believed to offer one of the best and most volatile atmospheres in the game. Wakefield Council has granted planning permission for a new stadium to be built at nearby Glasshoughton.
History
There was also a Castleford team which took part in the Yorkshire League from 1896-97 to 1905-06 inclusive.
Castleford Rugby League Football Club was founded in June 1926, after a successful era in the Yorkshire Senior Competition and were admitted to the sport's professional ranks in 1926. Cas played at the Sandy Desert ground from 1920 to 1927 before moving to Wheldon Road. The club was quick to achieve success, winning the Yorkshire League in 1932, followed by their first Challenge Cup title in 1935. The club record attendance was set at 25,449 for the third round Challenge Cup match against Hunslet in 1935.
Castleford, the winners of the 1935 Challenge Cup met French cup holders US Lyon Villeurbanne in a match played at Paris on 12 May 1935 for a trophy that would later become the Lord Derby Cup. US Lyon Villeurbanne won it and were awarded the trophy.
Castleford were beaten Championship finalists in 1938-39. Cas dropped out of the wartime Yorkshire league in 1942-3 and did not return to league competition until 1944-5.
On the Castleford were awarded a Super league franchise which enables them to play in the super league for the next 3 years. This was a very big boost for the club and the future does look bright for the Castleford Tigers the way the super league in 2009 will look is :
Bradford Bulls (Currently playing at : Grattan Stadium, Bradford ) Castleford Tigers (Currently Playing at : The Jungle, Castleford) Celtic Crusaders (Currently playing at : Bridgend, Wales) Catalan Dragons (Currently playing at : Stade Gilbert Brutus, France) Harlequins RL (Currently playing at : The Twickenham Stoop, London) Huddersfield Giants (Currently playing at : The Galpharm, Huddersfield) Hull FC (Currently playing at : The KC Stadium, Hull) Hull Kingston Rovers (Currently playing at : New Craven Park, Hull) Leeds Rhinos (Currently playing at : Headingly Carnigie, Leeds) Salford City Reds (Currently playing at : The Willows, Salford) Saint Helens RLFC (Currently playing at : Knowsley Road, Liverpool) Wakefield Trinity Wildcats (Currently playing at: Belle Vue, Wakefield) Warrington Wolves (Currently playing at : Haliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington) Wigan Warriors (Currently playing at : JJB Stadium, Wigan)
Post World War Two
The official attendance for a second round Challenge Cup match in 1967 against Hull KR was 22,582 but a reported 8,000 people got in without paying.
Castleford were again beaten Championship finalists in 1968-69, when they suffered a late defeat to arch-rivals Leeds.
The legendary half-back pairing of Alan Hardisty and Keith Hepworth inspired the club to back-to-back Challenge Cup triumphs in 1969 (v Salford) and 1970 (v Wigan).
From the introduction of two divisions in 1973 until the Super League era Castleford were one of a handful of clubs to have constantly remained in the top division of British rugby league.
In 1983/84 Castleford were beaten 18-10 by Hull Kingston Rovers in the Divisional Premiership final at Headingley.
Castleford made it to the final of the 1988 Yorkshire Cup but were beaten 33-12 by Leeds at Elland Road.
They were the leading club in Yorkshire in the early 1990s, finishing in the top four of the Championship no less than four times during this period.
John Joyner took up the reins as head coach in May 1993. The highlight of the early 1990s was in 1994 when Castleford defeated Wigan to claim the Regal Trophy at Headingley in a 33-2 victory. They were semi-finalists in the Challenge Cup and were also narrowly defeated in the Premiership final. At the end of that campaign Joyner was named as the Coach of the Year.
Super League
Castleford added 'Tigers' to their name for the 1992/93 season.
When Super League was suggested Castleford were supposed to merge with Wakefield Trinity and Featherstone Rovers to form 'Calder'. This was strongly resisted by all sets of supporters and an unmerged Cas were founder members of Super League in 1996.
At the start of the 1997 season Castleford were seen as a team making up the numbers and few held hopes for them avoiding relegation. John Joyner resigned in April 1997 to be replaced by Stuart Raper. They only just managed to avoid being relegated, eventually finishing tenth.
With a new season in 1998 many pundits predicted the Tigers would be relegated to National League One. Castleford, in fact stayed near the top of the table for the majority of the season and eventually finished sixth.
In the 1999 season the Tigers had bettered their previous position and finished fifth. They appeared in the semi finals of both the Challenge Cup and the Grand Final play-offs.
2000 was Raper's last season with the Tigers and their performance somewhat mirrored their previous season as they finished fifth and into the play-offs for a consecutive season.
They made the semi final of the Challenge Cup once again in 2002.
They were relegated from Super League at the end of the 2004 season, but were promoted back the following season, after winning the National League One Grand Final against Whitehaven.
Castleford currently play their traditional black and amber, however their previous colours were orange and black. A limited edition shirt in these traditional colours was released to commemorate participation in the 2005 final of the Northern Rail Cup, which Castleford lost 16-18 to Hull Kingston Rovers, in front of 9,400 people (a record attendance for the cup). The club experienced record sales of the new home shirt for 2007.
Even after a solid return season under the coaching of Terry Matterson, they were once again relegated from the Super League on Saturday 16 September 2006 after losing 29-17 to rivals Wakefield Trinity at Belle Vue, Wakefield. The match dubbed "The Battle of Belle Vue" was the last game of the season and whoever lost the match would have been relegated. This caused uproar in the rugby league community. Castleford were relegated with the highest points total for a relegated side in Super League history with 19 and more importantly the fact that they did not actually finish bottom of the league however the newly created Catalan Dragons were given immunity from relegation and since it was the French side that did finish bottom, the team directly above them (which turned out to be Castleford) would be relegated instead.
National League
In (2007) Castleford Tigers participated in National League One, the second tier of British rugby league. They were rewarded for a safe passage through to the Carnegie Challenge Cup 4th Round with an away tie at local rivals and 4 times Super League Champions Bradford Bulls, however the Tigers lost the tie narrowly going down 24-16. Castleford were promoted at the first time of asking when they overcame rivals Widnes Vikings 42-10 on October 7 2007 in the National League Grand Final. This means that they will participate in Super League XIII in 2008.
Super League 2008
In a disappointing season the Castleford Tigers finished bottom of the Super League; however with no relgation for the first time in Super League history the club wouldnt have been too bothered about this. The main thing in 2008 was fighting for a franchise for 2009 season which would see the 14 clubs who received a franchise stay in the Super League for at least 3 years without anybody being relegated, and Castlefords application for this, along with all the other 2008 Super League teams, as well as Celtic Crusauders and Salford, got accepted.
Castleford Tigers got much publicity in 2008 by giving a trial to the shamed 100 m sprinter Dwain Chambers for a month, but he did not seem worthy of receiving a contract and was therefore released instead. He did help out with the local schools as well as play against York Knights in a friendly game.
Castleford also added to their team throughout 2008 season with Matt Cook coming on loan until the end of the season from Bradford Bulls; however after a month he was called back into the Bradford team. They also got Brendan Hlad on loan from the Penrith Panthers until the end of the season, however he has not featured in coach Terry Matterson's plans much since his arrival, playing three games all from off the bench, and scoring no points.
At the same time Castleford added another body to the squad by signing former Wakefield Wildcats player Ned Catic from the French side Lyon XIII but he hasn't been offered another contract and will be leaving, probably to play again in France. In June they signed Mitchell Sargent from NRL side Newcastle Knights on a 2 and half year deal. Unfortunately, Sargent's move had been held up by red tape due to delays in issuing work visas to players. The Tigers were hopeful he would join the club soon, and indeed he did after enlisting the help of local MP to the Pontefract and Castleford constituency, Yvette Cooper. He was a hit with the fans straight away and will be playing with Castleford for to 2009 season also.
In June they released Tom Haberecht from his 1 year deal, due to quota restrictions. This was to enable Sargent to join the club. Haberecht is now currently on trial at local rivals Featherstone Rovers. In the same month the Tigers also loaned out young forward prospect Nathan Massey to Rovers and Jack Lee.
This season, with franchises on the horizon, has seen the Tigers retain four of their major squad players from the local area. Franchise licences are issued this season, with one of the criteria being home-grown players, an area the Tigers are making significant strides in. The first player to sign up to a new four-year deal was Joe Westerman, who was touted with a move to Leeds Rhinos, which turned out to be nothing more than mere speculation. Joe has been named in the current England squad for the World Cup. Following Joe into a new 4 year deal as well is Australian Ryan McGoldrick, who has been a figurehead and major PR puller for the club over the last couple of seasons. The Tigers also retained their longest serving player in the face of Craig Huby, who pen to paper on a 3 year deal. After several weeks of negotiations, and intense speculation that he was about to move to Bradford Bulls, Michael Shenton finally but pen to paper on a new 2 year deal, who, like Westerman has also been called up to the England squad for the World Cup. Following Shenton was Liam Higgins who put pen to paper on a 1 Year Deal with the club. Also Matterson has signed some top name players from the NRL in Rangi Chase, Dean Widders and Sione Faumuina. And when the Super League Transfer window opened cas signed England Internationl player Stuart Jones from Huddersfield Giants on a 1 Year Deal. Also the Tigers have signed ex-captain Ryan Hudson on a 4 Year Deal from the Huddersfield Giants. Continuing recruitment for the 2009 season Castleford Tigers have also signed Chris Feather and James Evans - both on one year deals and both from Bradford Bulls. Youngster Joe Arundel got promoted from the academy and is now joining the senior squad on a two-year deal at only 17 years old. James Ford is a winger who has signed a one year deal at Castleford from Sheffield Eagles in the National League One.
Leaving Castleford Tigers will be Peter Lupton, who is now going to be joining Celtic Crusaders, Andrew Henderson; Castlefords captain both times they were relegated into the National League set up has been let go and is joining local team Featherstone Rovers to add to the already big number of ex-Castleford players. Adam Fletcher has been let go as has Ned Catic - both havent signd for a team yet though. Mark Leafa will also be leaving and is now a free agent. Luke Dorn has left to join Harlequins RLFC - the team he scored a hat-trick againt earlier in the season of 2008. Stuart Donlan has left to go back to hometown Leigh Centurions. Scott Moore has finished his loan move and now will join Huddersfield Giants. Awen Guttenbiel has retired and now will go back to Australia to hopefully continue on his coaching ambitions.
2009 Squad
As of 22 September, 2008:2009 Transfers In
| No In | Nat | Name | Moved From | Contract Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Rangi Chase | St George Illawarra Dragons | 2 Year Deal | |
| 2nd | Dean Widders | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 3 Year Deal | |
| 3rd | Sione Faumuina | North Queensland Cowboys | 1 Year Deal | |
| 4th | Stuart Jones | Huddersfield Giants | 1 Year Deal | |
| 5th | Ryan Hudson | Huddersfield Giants | 4 Year Deal | |
| 6th | James Evans | Bradford Bulls | 1 Year Deal | |
| 7th | James Ford | Sheffield Eagles | 1 Year Deal | |
| 8th | Chris Feather | Bradford Bulls | 1 Year Deal | |
| 9th | Kirk Netherton | Hull Kingston Rovers | 1 Year Deal |
2009 Transfers Out
| Nat | Name | Moved To |
|---|---|---|
| Awen Guttenbeil | Retired | |
| Anthony Thackeray | Widnes Vikings | |
| Scott Moore | Huddersfield Giants | |
| Luke Dorn | Harlequins RL | |
| Ned Catic | Released | |
| Adam Fletcher | Released | |
| Stuart Donlan | Leigh Centurions | |
| Peter Lupton | Released | |
| Mark Leafa | Released | |
| Andrew Henderson | Gateshead Thunder | |
| Michael Korkidas | Released |
Players of note
- Les Adams
- Arthur Atkinson
- Bob Beardmore
- Kevin Beardmore
- Bill Bryant
- St John Ellis
- Kevin Ward
- Nathan Sykes
- Mitch Healey
- Paul Newlove
- Mike Ford
- Wayne Godwin
- Alan Hardisty
- Dennis Hartley
- Keith Hepworth
- John Joyner
- Barrie-Jon Mather
- Michael Eager
- Wayne Bartrim
- Paul Mellor
- Brian Lockwood
- Roger Millward
- Tawera Nikau
- Danny Nutley
- Danny Orr
- Malcolm Reilly
- Dean Sampson
- Jason Flowers
- Aaron Raper
- Waine Pryce
- John Sheridan
- Graham Steadman
- Adrian Vowles
- Johnny Ward
- Awen Guttenbeil
- Dale Fritz
- Darren Rogers
- Michael Smith
- Mark Tookey
- Frano Botica
Honours
- Challenge Cup winners: 1934-35, 1968-69, 1969-70, 1985-86 (4 times)
- Yorkshire Cup winners: 1977-78, 1981-82, 1986-87, 1990-91, 1991-92 (5 times)
- Yorkshire League winners: 1932-33, 1938-39, 1964-65 (3 times)
- Regal Trophy winners: 1976-77, 1993-94 (2 times)
- BBC2 Floodlit Trophy winners: 1965-66, 1966-67, 1967-68,1976/77, (4 times)
- National League One winners: 2005, 2007
- National League One League Leaders: 2007
Records
Super League Era
Player records
- Most tries in a game: 4 by Waine Pryce (vs Wakefield Trinity) 1 September 2002
- Most goals in a game: 9 by Frano Botica (vs Workington Town) 12 May 1996
- Most points in a game: 22 by Joe Westerman (vs Warrington on March 24, 2008)
- Most tries in a season: 23 by Darren Rogers 1999
- Most goals in a season: 114 by Wayne Bartrim 2002
- Most points in a season: 244 by Danny Orr, 1999
Team records
- Biggest win: 106-0 vs Rochdale 9 September 2007
- Heaviest defeat: 4-72 vs St Helens, 13 August 2006
- Highest attendance: 11,731 vs Leeds Rhinos, March 7 2004
All Time
Player records
- Most tries in a game: 5 by John Joyner (vs Millom) 16 September 1973, Derek Foster (vs Hunslet) November 1972, Steve Fenton (vs Dewsbury) 27 January 1978, Ian French (vs Hunslet) 9 February 1986 & St John Ellis (vs Whitehaven) 10 December 1989
- Most goals in a game: 17 by Sammy Lloyd (vs Millom) 16 September 1973
- Most points in a game: 43 by Sammy Lloyd (vs Millom) 16 September 1973
- Most tries in a season: 40 by St John Ellis 1993-94
- Most goals in a season: 158 by Sammy Lloyd 1976-1977
- Most points in a season: 334 by Bob Beardmore, 1983-1984
- Most career tries: 206 by Alan Hardisty 1958-1971
- Most career goals 875 by Albert Lunn 1951-1963
- Most career points: 1870 by Albert Lunn 1951-1963
Team records
- Rugby League Championships: None. 1926-Present day
- Biggest win: 106-0 vs Rochdale Hornets, 9 September 2007
- Heaviest defeat: 6-64 vs Warrington, 21 April 2006
- Highest attendance: 25,449 vs Hunslet 9 March 1935
- Most Tries In One Season By A Single Player: 69 By Hooker Blake Dixsan
Sources
References
External links
- Official site
- Unofficial Forum (Casforum)
- Unofficial Castigers.net
- Aye Of The Tigers Fanzine
- Unofficial site
- Supporters Club Website
- Tigers stadium moves a step closer (from the BBC)
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Monday October 06, 2008 at 00:26:19 PDT (GMT -0700)
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