CASTLEFORD TIGERS have been doing it tough in the 2023 Super League season so far.
Sitting second bottom in the Super League table, the West Yorkshire side have won just two games all year – and exited the Challenge Cup at the first time of asking last weekend to Hull FC.
In and amongst that strife has been a number of injuries, but also departures with Daniel Smith one of those that has left the club with immediate effect to join Featherstone Rovers.
A number of Castleford fans were surprised at the decision, but head coach Andy Last has explained his reasoning behind the move.
“Dan played a couple of games earlier in the season and found himself out of the team. I gave him a couple of opportunities to showcase what he could provide for us,” Last said.
“His form and confidence was a little bit low at the beginning of the season and wasn’t able to get that confidence back.
“We had a chat and Featherstone asked if they could take him on loan and we felt that was good for Dan to get game time rather than play in a hit-and-miss reserves competition or on dual registration with Halifax or Midlands.”
Last also believes that Smith’s exit will give younger players within the squad the opportunity to become regular first-team players.
“He enjoyed his time at Featherstone and in terms of us moving forward, we feel we have some guys in the squad such as Sam Hall and Muizz Mustapha who have been doing a good job.
“We wanted to create a pathway for those two so we let Dan pursue an opportunity which also meant his future was secure for next year. It worked for both parties.”
