Castleford Tigers have confirmed the signing of Lewis Bienek on a one-year deal.
The 22-year-old joins from Hull FC on an initial one-year deal but has an option to extend with an additional year.
Bienek began his career aged 18 at London Broncos, where he played 18 games across three years and scored four tries.
The Ireland international was recruited by Super League side Hull FC in 2018, but failed to become a consistent performer and as a result, was loaned out with London, Doncaster and Batley during his three-year stint.
Lewis made a strong start to the season with Leigh Centurions but this was halted due to the cancellation of the Betfred Championship season due to Covid-19.
He will form part of Daryl Powell’s 2021 forward pack which boasts talented stars such as Liam Watts, Grant Millington and George Griffin, with the Tigers also aiming to target another forward in the off-season.
Bienek said: “Daryl is one of the main reasons I wanted to sign with Cas, he’s a great coach and he gets a lot out players that are coming through that are younger, so it will be great to learn a lot from him and the more experienced players.”
“2021 we’re going to rip in, hopefully, get the fans in the stadium and get the place bouncing to get the boys ready for the games, get some good carries in and play some exciting stuff!”
Head Coach Daryl Powell added: “Lewis is a great prospect and I’m looking forward to getting him in and seeing what he can do. I think everybody will be excited to see him, you look at some of the things he has done earlier on his career, he has some development to do, but he has got a lot of potential.”
“We have a real air of youth that will stand the club in good stead for years to come which is what we’re looking for, but we’re also looking to win a competition next year as well.”
“With that in mind, we still want to add another experienced prop for 2021 who can come in and make an immediate difference to our go-forward, and we’re in advanced talks with a Super League-based player who we’re confident can do that for us.”
