Edwards ecstatic at the Tigers
Kenny Edwards speaks to castlefordtigers.com for the first time since joining Cas!
The Club’s #NewCasEra has recruited eight new faces, one those being Kenny Edwards who signed a one-year loan deal with the Tigers from Huddersfield in September. It’s an exciting time to be part of the Fords and Edwards is ready and raring for it all to begin.
Evasive, allusive, and a bundle of energy is an array of comments made about the Tigers’ new back-row player. Pre-season for the Fords started at the beginning of November and despite the short-time frame, Kenny feels well settled already!
“It is a fresh start for me here at Cas. I think for everybody, with the new coaching staff here and plenty of new personnel in the playing group – I’m really lucky to be at this club.
“They did some good things last year and I’m here to add what I can to the group, work as hard as I can on my game and work with these boys to push onto something next year. I’m loving it here and I can’t wait to get into some footy!”
Pre-season to some is known as one of the most gruelling aspects to being a sports professional and can come as a bit of a shock to the system. However, the 32-year-old arrived well prepared for the challenge.
“I couldn’t come into a new club and start on the backfoot, so I had to turn up in good shape to start with. In our first couple of weeks, we were eased into it, but I know it’s going to get harder.
“When I came, I had a bit of a knee problem, so I wasn’t doing everything with the boys and it wasn’t what I wanted, but I’m back to full fitness now and it’s been a really enjoyable opening few weeks.”
Known for his skilful offloads and aggressive nature on the pitch, Edwards described his playing style as “an energy player.”
“That’s what I’ve always built my game around is energy and giving players around me that driving force too. The forwards probably don’t know it yet, but they will hate my voice by the end of training sessions because I don’t shut up.”
Kenny is one of four forwards brought in by Lee Radford for the 2022 season and there is excitement brewing amongst the pack.
“When I spoke to Radders, he informed me that Westy (Joe Westermann) was going to come back here too and that was a big influence for me. Along with him, James Bell and a couple of others, they were probably the best in the comp in their positions last year.
“I think Westy suits the way that I like to play too. One of the first chats I had with Westy here was ‘I’ll get you the ball’ and we were working on some moves even before we hit the field.
“Westy along with George Lawler, I heard he can whack, and he’s got a bit of a shoulder on him so I’m looking forward to it.”
Lee Radford is a coach that Kenny has thrived to play under and the addition to the Tigers’ squad next year made his decision all the easier.
“Even what Lee said in our first meeting, he’s not coming in to try and change the wheel, he’s here to add to what the club has already built.
“I’ve placed no expectations on myself, I just want to turn up every day, get as fit and as strong as I can and put myself in the best place possible to play footy for this club.”
Before 2018, Kenny had never played down at the Jungle, but his first visit was certainly one to remember. The forward was playing at Catalans that season who had just won the Challenge Cup – a week prior to their visit to The Mend-A-Hose Jungle.
“I didn’t know anything about the Jungle coming down here. I was on the bench when I first played there and when I went to run down the side-line to warm up, they were into me, spraying me with comments. We ended up losing by either 50 or 60 points that game and most of that was down to the crowd.
“Being a Castleford player now though, I can’t wait to play in front of those supporters.”
The #NewCasEra has begun. The stage is set, and the Betfred Super League season is only a matter of months away. It’s a compelling phase for the Tigers and a journey that Kenny cannot wait to officially begin.
“It’s a really exciting time for the club and there’s no expectation but we all want to work as hard as we can so that we can do something special next year. Radders is an exciting coach and I’m looking forward to playing under him and the rest of the coaching staff.”
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