Castleford Tigers confirm that Jake Trueman has played his last game for club

The club has also confirmed that the player will be leaving the Tigers at the end of the campaign.

Trueman picked up the serious injury in last Friday night’s game against Huddersfield Giants and following a scan this week it has been confirmed as a long-term ACL injury.

He joined the Tigers aged just 17 from Bradford Bulls in January 2017 and working alongside the club's academy he continued his speedy development before making his Super League debut in June that year.

Clearly, a young star to watch, he would go on to register a hat-trick in his second top-flight match.

Across six seasons, Trueman has gone on to make 103 appearances and score 32 times for Cas.

The now 23-year-old has picked up some honours along the way including Super League’s Young Player of the Year award in 2018, being named in the England Knights and England senior performance squads, playing for England 9s in the 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s tournament and was in the travelling squad for the 2019 Great Britain Lions tour.

A back injury has limited Jake’s game time in the previous two seasons, but up until this point Trueman had been ever-present in 2022, even scoring on what would turn out to be his final game for Castleford Tigers last Friday night.

“I’m gutted, I’ve been looking forward to the rest of the year knowing it was my last year with Cas, looking forward to playing with the boys and hopefully getting in the play-offs and having a good crack at trying to win something," Trueman told castlefordtigers.com.

“Even more so I think I’ve been getting back to real full fitness the past three or four weeks from my back injury, feeling like I’m getting full speed and full strength back, then this happens.”

Lock Lane's game at Hunslet Club Parkside abandoned by refereehttps://t.co/Kr3HVnq0JL@LockLaneOpenAge @OfficialNCL

— PCEXP_Tony (@TonyHarber) July 3, 2022

Trueman is disappointed to have played his final game for Castleford.

He added: “I have really fond memories, I love Cas, I’ve loved my time here and I owe a lot to Cas. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be in the position I am now playing regular Super League games if it wasn’t for Cas.

“It’s hard to explain Cas without actually being there, everyone seems to love it and it has been the right fit for me with the atmosphere around the place, all the boys are great, and all the coaches too. It has seemed to fit right and get the best out of me.

“I’ve loved working under Radders, he’s been really good with me coming back from the back injury he has got me enjoying rugby again. It’s been a tough couple of years with my back, but that makes it more gutting that I can’t see the year out and repay Radders and Lasty."

Trueman thanks the fans for their support in his time at Cas: “Thank you for the last six years supporting the team, it is so good to play down at The Jungle, those who have experienced it would say probably one of the best places to play in Super League. Thank you for making my time special.”

Head coach Lee Radford said: “I’m obviously gutted for him. Since coming in he has been really good to be around, so I am devastated for him.

“Coming off months out with his back and now with his ACL, it’s a challenging time for him but hopefully he can come out the other end of it and get back playing some good rugby.”

Everyone at the Castleford Tigers would like to wish Jake a very speedy recovery, and we thank him for his efforts for our club.