Jacques O’Neill says it’s great to be part of pre-season training at Castleford, even if he if he still waiting for the green light to go flat out.
The 22-year-old Cumbrian hooker, who came through the Tigers’ development system, is working his way back from surgery to re-attach a hamstring.
And Askam product O’Neill is trying to stay patient as he waits to re-join full training sessions under new coach Lee Radford.
He featured in 29 games under Radford’s predecessor Daryl Powell, who handed him a debut in the 32-16 home win over Hull KR in March 2019 after he played on loan at Leigh the season before.
With experienced Paul McShane such a consistent performer, O’Neill has had to bide his time, but he is ready to further stake a claim once he returns to full fitness.
“I’m back doing some upper-body weight and conditioning sessions,” he explained.
“It’s just really good to be out there and I’m enjoying being around the lads.
“At one stage I couldn’t do anything, so it’s good to be doing any kind of work again.
“Some it is quite fast paced. You get a bit of a sweat on and it gets your lungs pumping.”
O’Neill has company in the rehabilitation room, with Callum McLelland working his way back from a knee injury.
The halfback is back at his first club after leaving to play rugby union for Edinburgh, then returning to Rugby League with Leeds.
He also came through Castleford’s Academy, and O’Neill added: “I think I might be a little further ahead of Callum in terms of recovery time, but it is really good to have someone doing the same kind of work with you.
“If I was doing all this by myself it would be more difficult and mentally challenging, so it’s good to have him alongside me.
“Looking ahead, I hope to start doing a bit of running, then move onto the next phase of my comeback.”
Castleford will visit Doncaster for a pre-season game on Sunday, January 23 (3pm). They go to York seven days previously.
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