Paul McShane motivated to kick on again with Castleford Tigers

A year ago the former Man of Steel looked certain to be in England’s plans for the World Cup, but after missing much of the last pre-season he was rarely able to find his best form in 2022 and was omitted from Shaun Wane’s squad.

He has honestly said that he had no complaints on missing out on the tournament. And rather than sulking about it, he is now more determined than ever now to rediscover the way of playing that made him an England international in the first place.

"There were hookers who played better than me last year and while I had three weeks in camp with the fallout squad, which refreshed me a bit and motivated me more for this year, the fact is it was nobody else's fault other than mine,” said McShane.

"So the only response is to get knuckled down and go harder at it this season.

"I really didn't think I played that well at all last year. I ended up missing most of pre-season last year and I thought I'd be OK going into the season.

"But the game has changed so much nowadays that it was a real shock to the system.

"Hopefully I can get a full pre-season under my belt this year. You feel like you're chasing your tail if you miss pre-season. You can understand the game as much as you want but if you're not fit, you soon find out.

“I think I played frustrated because of it too and I'm just determined to be better for Radders and the team.

"I love playing for this club and didn't think the lack of pre-season would impact me. I'm so proud to play for this club and think I let the pressure of that and being captain weigh me down a bit.

"This year, though, I'm properly going for it."

Castleford Tigers' 2023 Betfred Super League fixtures

McShane believes Cas can challenge the big teams in 2023.

He added: "We had a slow start last year, had a lot of injuries and we nearly made it. It was tough to take, really tough to take because we wanted to be in the play-offs.

"But this year we've no excuses. I think we need to be pushing for a top four spot.

"Nobody will back us away from the group and externally but we know what we've got here."