CASTLEFORD TIGERS head coach Andy Last has explained the decision to bring Jason Qareqare back from his loan spell with the Bradford Bulls as well as the decision to to send Alex Sutcliffe on dual-registration with Halifax Panthers.
Sutcliffe featured in the home loss to Hull FC in the Challenge Cup Sixth Round but didn’t feature against the Huddersfield Giants last week.
Now, he has been given a chance to get back to form, according to Last, with a very competitive Championship team.
“It was just his form, he played against Hull FC and didn’t play particularly well albeit it was his first game back,” Last said.
“He has spent a bit of time on the sideline and is struggling with his robustness so I made the decision that needed to continue playing.
“He did ok in the reserves but hadn’t done enough to get himself back in the 17 for us so we wanted to continue that week-by-week playing by using dual registration.
“Simon Grix (Halifax head coach) was keen to give him the chance in the back-row. he will benefit from game time. It will be his third game in three weeks so we will benefit from that with much needed game time and get some form back.”
Meanwhile, Qareqare could feature against Leeds Rhinos on Saturday evening after missing the last few months following a move to Bradford.
“Jason has a chance, he has trained well,” Last said. “We had a good chat with him that he has to take the next step.
“It’s been well documented that we sent him out on loan to improve aspects of his performance in terms of his yardage.
“The modern day winger is so important in getting the sets started and he needs to be doing that better than he has been.
“The pitch at Bradford would mean he would have to take 15-20 carries a game on a small field and he has done that ok.
“They have had a change of coach and they wanted to use their own players which gave us a chance to bring him back.
“Jason needs to stat delivering on a consistent basis and not just be a finisher but roll his sleeves up and carry us out of back field.”
