Daryl Powell has backed Jake Trueman to become a star after he burst onto the scene in Castleford’s win over Wigan.
The 18-year-old halfback put the competition on notice as he scored a hat-trick for the Tigers in his first competitive start for the club.
His tries helped secure a superb away win over in-form Wigan, despite the Tigers being without starting halfbacks Luke Gale and Ben Roberts.
Having now made his breakthrough for the league leaders, Powell admitted the youngster has the ability to reach great heights.
“You can see it written all over him that he has this level mapped out,” Powell said.
“He’s a really unassuming kid, you see him in practice and you don’t hear him too much in practice but you see some of the things he can do.
“He has time, it looks like it’s easy, his pass weight is great and the way he thread the ball through from a kicking perspective showed a lot of maturity for a young player. I’m really pleased with what he was able to do and clearly, you’d be confident putting him out on the field whatever the game.”
Powell admitted he informed the teenager early last week that he would start the game, and believed it was a decision that paid off.
“I wanted to give him as much time to get accustomed to it. He asked if he’d be starting or on the bench and I think he was pretty nervous when I said you’ll be starting. I wanted to give him as much time as possible.”
On the performance, Powell added: “I thought that first-half was one of the most controlled performances we’ve had all year, regardless of who was playing.
“I thought all along if we could win today it would be a huge, huge win for us, and I thought it was an outstanding win for us.”
