Castleford Tigers
New head coach Paul Rowley has admitted the passion of the Castleford Tigers supporters has played a big part in his decision to take the hot seat.
Rowley has signed a three-year contract with the Tigers and will be striving for the same success he had in Super League with Salford.
He believes the support the team receives from the terraces can play a vital part in helping lift Cas back to becoming play-off challengers.
And after experiencing the Wheldon Road roar for himself many times as a player and coach he cannot wait to be on the right end of it now.
Speaking on the Tigers’ social media, he said: “The main reason that I decided to commit to Castleford is because of my initial conversations with Chris (Chester) and the board.
“I came down and met the board, and it felt right. I liked them as people and I felt the passion of the Cas supporters. They’re just honest people, and I really got along with them.
“For me, that’s really important and was a really significant part of me committing to Cas.”
Experienced and highly respected coach Rowley had a disappointing time at St Helens last season, but previously did well with Salford, Leigh and Toronto and will be looking to put his own imprint on the way Cas play in 2027.
He has already identified areas where the team needs to improve if they are to be more successful than last term.
He explained:”I would say in terms of the middle unit in particular, I’m comfortable saying it needs to work harder.
"We’re going to do some hard work there, we’ve got to work harder and got to be resilient.
“The game’s changed. The game’s chaotic in many respects because of the ruck speed, both sides of the ball, so we’ve got to be able to deal with that on both sides of the ball as well.”
Rowley acknowledged that Cas had made some exciting signings for 2027, but on further recruitment he said:
“Speaking openly, I think there’s a bit of space there for back rowers.
"We need a little bit of purist back rowers, I think. Whether that be one or two, maybe another consistent body to cover in the outside back spots and then the middles need strengthening as well.
“I wouldn’t say masses of numbers, and it’s a process. There are players that are on a journey and there’ll be some players that come out and surprise me.
“There’s some quality in our outside backs, which has been further strengthened, so that’s quite exciting.
"I didn’t realise how good certain players were or how consistent or reliable certain players are, so I really think it’s important just to come in and assess really.
“I’m looking forward to having a look really and learning, and I’m going to take time on that one, but we need to be up and running. I think the season might be starting a little bit earlier again this year, so as always it comes thick and fast and it’ll be upon us sooner than we think.”