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2025 Season Review: Castleford Tigers

13 Nov 2025

Castleford Tigers will be looking forward to their new future after a disappointing campaign, and it's fair to say that the 2025 season will not live long in the memory of most Tigers supporters.

It’s not that the team was widely expected to gatecrash the Play-Offs race or secure a first piece of silverware since 2017.

But their campaign never offered fans any real glimmers of hope, with one solitary victory over struggling Salford in their opening eight Betfred Super League matches setting the tone for a campaign of under achievement.

It started by being dumped out of the Betfred Challenge Cup by Championship Bradford Bulls, Tex Hoy’s late conversion to his own try drifting wide to deny them extra-time in a moment that would act as a precursor to what was to come.

After that, high points were few and far between.

By early July coach Danny McGuire had paid for the results with his first senior job, and was replaced initially by incoming director of rugby Chris Chester ahead of Australian Ryan Carr’s arrival in the upcoming close season.

Chester was unable to turn around the pattern of results, although he did oversee the best Tigers win of 2025 as they dented local rivals Wakefield’s top six hopes with a stirring home derby win in September.

The Tigers have turned up in Rivals Round Returns ?#SuperLeague pic.twitter.com/KHBZcGYtbY
— Betfred Super League (@SuperLeague) September 5, 2025

That was one of just six wins all year, with Hull FC away in early July another relative highlight, Senior brothers Innes and Louis both on the scoresheet.

McGuire was still in charge at that point but just three games later he was shown the door in the wake of a 30-12 home loss to Huddersfield Giants.

During the course of the campaign there was 60-plus defeats at Wigan and local rivals Leeds and four other occasions the Tigers conceded 40 points or more.

Perhaps just as frustrating was the fact that on 12 occasions Castleford finished matches in single figures themselves, including scoreless defeats to St Helens and Hull KR.

But that’s not to say there wasn’t positives as well, primarily in the performances of a cluster of promising young players that Carr will hope to build a new era around.

Teenage full-back Fletcher Rooney’s start to the season suggested he could be one of the stars of 2025 before injury hit, while Jenson Windley and Alfie Lindsey emerged later in the campaign and the likes of Sam Hall and Cain Robb continued their development.

At the older end of the scale, Alex Mellor was a model of consistency and leadership in the back row, George Lawler a solid member of the pack and Australian Zac Cini arguably the pick of the overseas signings.

Other players had their moments at different stages of the year, but Castleford supporters will now be hoping that the arrival of the respected Carr, a former Featherstone boss and St George Illawarra assistant, ushers in a period of renewed progress at the club.