CASTLEFORD TIGERS have confirmed that Paul McShane will leave the club at the end of this season.
McShane has been a Castleford stalwart over the past decade, making over 200 appearances since signing in 2015.
He was a key part of the 2017 team which won the League Leaders’ Shield and reached the Super League Grand Final, and he won the Man of Steel award in 2020.
Castleford say that McShane, 34, will “retire from full-time Rugby League”.
“I’ve absolutely loved the past nine years – it’s probably got the best out of me as a rugby player,” said the former England international.
“It’s a club where I’ve become a man. I’ve brought my kids into the world at Cas and that’s all my kids do here is play rugby. My kids love it here and are Cas fans through and through.
“It’ll be really hard (leaving). I’ve always spoken about how playing in front of the Cas fans at Wheldon Road is something special and that’s been motivating me throughout my career and made me want to do my best every time I stepped out there.
“Doing it this one last time on Friday (against Leigh Leopards), it’ll be a tough one but something I’ll remember.
“I haven’t hidden it, the club made me the player that I am today and the person that I am. It’s something that I’ll be grateful for, and I find myself counting my lucky stars every day that I get to end it on my terms.”
Castleford’s head of rugby operations, Danny Wilson, added: “He has been a great servant to Cas and Rugby League in general. He has hit the heights of international rugby.
“He has had some great accolades including the Man of Steel, that’s the greatest accolade a rugby player can achieve.
“For him to be able to step back now and reassess the next chapter in his life and decide what is right for him and his family, I’m really pleased for Paul and how he is able to make that decision.
“I’m sure it was a difficult one to make but probably the right one to make for him.
“It also gives the opportunity for the club to progress and move on. I think what Paul has given Cas fans over the time he has been here has been quality and had a lot of excitement and I’m sure he’s going to do that till the end of the year but no more so than Friday night at the Jungle for his farewell home game.”
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