CASTLEFORD TIGERS are entering a new era under head coach Ryan Carr.
Carr, who has been in the NRL as an assistant coach for the likes of St George Illawarra Dragons for six years, has signed a three-year deal with the West Yorkshire club.
It’s a massive rebuild that will be undertaken at Castleford given the fact that the Tigers finished second bottom on the Super League ladder in 2025.
In the past, Carr has been linked to other top flight clubs such as Leeds Rhinos, so why did Carr choose Castleford after being linked with a move to the northern hemisphere for so long?
“I’ve always had ambitions to be a head coach, I’ve been an assistant for six years in Australia,” Carr told League Express.
“I love having my own team, I love having that role. I’ve got a good relationship with Chezzy (Castleford’s director of rugby Chris Chester), I’ve known him for six or seven years and we’ve always remained in contact.
“We see the game very similarly, we share a lot of the same beliefs on and off the field which is important having that relationship together.
“When you don’t know who you’re working with, you can find out too late. So I was confident coming in, the room for growth is exciting and there’s a lot to work with.
“I have had the chance to come back to the UK before but nothing aligned as well as this.”
So what can Castleford fans expect from Carr and his team?
“I want a team that competes really hard, there are a few non-negotiables about how hard our effort is. That will be something that will be judged and valued very highly.
“In terms of the style of play, I don’t think I’ve ever been a person that has a fixed mindset of how we play because we’ve got to figure out what our team is and what our strengths are.
“That’s what pre-season is for. We need to know how we gel with a clear identity. Until we start training together, I don’t want to comment too much on that.
“There’s always long and short-term goals in anything anyone does. I’ve got a fixed mindset about anything, I’ve come in open to set really clear set standards here early on.
“I believe any team can win any game that they turn up for. We want to win and I want us to have an attitude of wanting to win everything in front of us and then the results will take care of themselves.
“We can’t control where we finish on the ladder but we can control what is within our reach.”