Martin: “We all want to push each other”

The 20-year-old forward has been with Castleford Tigers since the 2020 pre-season, working hard within the First Team environment, and earned his Super League debut last October against Hull KR. Martin is part of the young contingent of players in the current Tigers squad who are all hungry for more match minutes this year.

Brad did not have to wait too long for his first game in 2021, coming off the bench in Round 4 against Wigan Warriors, and from the moment he stepped on the pitch you could see his desire to leave an impression.

“I thought did okay, to be honest, I was just excited to get out there,” said Martin to castlefordtigers.com

“I said to myself that they would be aggressive with us so I just wanted to get out there and try put some big hits in straight away and make my mark as best I can and try to get my name known.

“They’re a tough side Wigan so these are the games you want to be playing in, but I was just excited to get some minutes under my belt and I thought I did okay standing up to them but there is always room for improvement.

“The aim is to get more appearances, I set myself in the pre-season a goal of how many games I want to play, and I think to get my first in so early in Round 4 is pleasing, I want to earn more minutes and games.”

Brad’s contract extension for the 2021 season was confirmed early in January alongside fellow youngsters Cain Robb and Brad Graham, another two players who are developing within the Castleford system.

“We have a good young bunch of players at the club, some have been saying it’s the best in a long time, but we all want to push each other, and we all work hard and we all just want that opportunity to play and show what we can do.”

Surrounded by talented and experienced players in a professional environment is a huge opportunity that the club’s young guns are not allowing to go to waste, as they keep learning from their teammates as Brad discusses.

“We’re all still doing that, there is a bunch of young lads like me, Sam Hall and Lewis Peachey who are middles, and Millo [Grant Millington] for example, has been really good with us this year through pre-season. He has really been helping us and giving us tips here and there, but I still think if we take a bit off each player then it will help us massively. Everyone has really helped us this season especially all the forwards.”

The defeat at the DW Stadium was Castleford’s first of the season, but Brad insists whilst there are improvements to be made, positives can still be taken from the performance.

“We have won three from four [in Super League] and have started the season really well even though we lost this game, Wigan is one of the top sides in the comp probably, so I think we have done well and stuck in there. I think the scoreline doesn’t show what the game was like and I think that we gave them a good fight, to be honest, but there are improvements in us and we can take some positives out of it all.”