Castleford Tigers coach Lee Radford last week made one of his first major decisions at the club, when he announced that Paul McShane would captain the club in 2022.
McShane has taken over from former skipper Michael Shenton, who retired at the end of last season and is now in a youth development role at Hull FC.
The 2020 Man of Steel has been one of Castleford’s standout performers in recent years and, having already been part of the leadership group he will now have the captaincy for his eighth season at the club.
The 32-year-old, who played for Leeds and Wakefield before joining the Tigers in 2015, said he was “chuffed to bits” when he found out.
“I just love what I do, I love coming here every day,” he said.
“Now that I’ll be captaining the club, I just need to keep pushing people on and making them better, which makes the club better.”
And McShane admits he is conscious of some of the big names who have captained the club in the past.
“It’s scary, there have been some legends of the game who have done it in the past. Shenny got the best out of me and those are massive boots to fill.”
McShane gained plenty of insight into how to be a captain from the role Shenton played.
“Probably how calm he is, he rarely gets flustered and that’s what I have to learn,” he said.
McShane is also looking to continue another tradition at the club in his new role.
“From when I first came to Castleford, there was a real emphasis on making people better and putting the team first.
“You leave your shirt in a better place than when you got it.”
And he believes that reaching the play-offs, which Castleford have failed to do in the past two seasons, is “the bare minimum” target this year and that former Hull FC coach Radford, who has succeeded Daryl Powell, has brought in new ideas, while he is excited to see Castleford’s new arrivals.
“We’ve brought in some very talented rugby players,” he said.
“We are in a great position, having brought in players who are just as good if not better than those who have left and the younger lads are getting another year’s experience.
“The people coming in will bring fresh ideas. It’s always good to have change.”
Radford explained why McShane was the ideal choice to be his captain.
“Macca’s leadership qualities tick a lot of boxes,” said Radford.
“He’s a good sounding board for me as well.
“There are numerous types of captain. He does everything right, with young blokes in particular.
“When he speaks, people listen.”
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