Fev vs Tigers: Match Preview

New Year’s Eve sees the Tigers take on an old familiar foe at Post Office Road to kick-off Castleford’s pre-season campaign of fixtures, it will be against local neighbours and Championship side Featherstone Rovers.

• WHEN: Saturday, 31st December 2022, 12pm (midday) kick-off
• WHERE: The Millennium Stadium, Post Office Road

Castleford fans will be located in the Ward Hygiene Stand at The Millennium Stadium (also known as the Railway End) on game day. Please make your way there for the match if attending.

Ticket Prices for this fixture are - Adults - £15, Concessions - £10, and Under 16’s - £5.

Match tickets are available in advance online on Rovers’ ticketing website which you can click to go to HERE, or on the day you can go to Featherstone’s Ticket Office which will be open from 10:30am.

As the curtain comes down on a memorable 2022, one last game remains on the final day of the calendar year and presents Cas the chance to get one over one of our local neighbours and get some of our youngsters blooded in with good experience.

Assistant Coach Andy Last will also take charge of this fixture with Head Coach Lee Radford currently in Samoa as part of the Samoan national side’s homecoming reception and celebrations.

The last time the Fords faced Featherstone was four years ago in a shutout match at The Mend-A-Hose Jungle which was won by 56 points to nil in 2018, with a youthful look to the team with lots of Academy products getting a taste of senior action. This match on Saturday will have a similar vibe to it with several young players and debutantes named in the 20-man squad list.

It is of course a derby day and Cas/Fev games always have extra spice in them for the local bragging rights and the storied histories of both clubs encountering one another, less so in recent years, but Featherstone will be fighting to make their way into the top-flight and face Cas more frequently.

The Fords faithful will get their first chance to possibly see new recruits Jack Broadbent, Bailey Dawson, Jacob Hookem, Ilikaya Mafi and Muizz Mustapha – all of whom have joined the Club for 2023.

Oliver Agar, George Hill & Elliot Wallis could be in line to make their first appearances for our senior side since joining the Tigers Reserves set up during 2022, as could Academy products Hugo Nikhata and Aaron Willis after making the step up into the First Team pre-season for the first time this year.

Following the exciting announcement of Castleford’s partnership with Midland Hurricanes too, Conner Gilbey, Courage Mkuhlani and Ben Stead have stepped into the team to represent our link with the League One outfit.

Featherstone Rovers have a new man in charge of their playing squad with former Leeds assistant, and Super League great, Sean Long now as their Head Coach.

Long’s goal is a simple one: get Fev into Super League. Rovers will be keen to use the New Year’s Eve game as an acid test as they push for promotion again in the 2023 Championship season.

The Rovers chief has named a relatively strong side for his first game in charge of Featherstone, with former Cas players John Davies, Brad Day, Dan Fleming and Gadwin Springer in the mix to play alongside up to possibly five debuting players after an active recruitment drive for next year.

With Head Coach Radford out of the country, Andy Last will be leading the Tigers on New Year’s Eve but he is no stranger to being the man who makes the big calls on game day and he is excited to see the Fords’ young bucks take centre stage.

“I stepped in for Radders previously at Hull FC and I’m accustomed to the responsibility that comes with picking the team and the game day that comes with being a Head Coach. I’ll be well supported by the staff that we have got here.

“It’s an opportunity for some younger guys to showcase what they can do, show that the hard work they have put into pre-season has been a benefit, and we are looking forward to it – it should be a good contest.”

WATCH IN FULL ON TIGERS TV

Castleford Tigers: Oliver Agar, Jack Broadbent, Bailey Dawson, Bureta Faraimo, Mahe Fonua, Conner Gilbey, George Hill, Jacob Hookem, Ilikaya Mafi, Brad Martin, Courage Mkuhlani, Muizz Mustapha, Hugo Nikhata, Jason Qareqare, Cain Robb, Daniel Smith, Ben Stead, Alex Sutcliffe, Elliot Wallis, Aaron Willis.

Featherstone Rovers: Luke Briscoe, Jack Bussey, Luke Cooper, Mathieu Cozza, John Davies, Brad Day, Riley Dean, Dan Fleming, Johnathon Ford, Gareth Gale, Craig Hall, Chris Hankinson, Josh Hardcastle, Craig Kopczak, Thomas Lacans, Joey Leilua, James Lockwood, Brandon Pickersgill, Jake Roberts, Gadwin Springer, Matty Wildie.

Jack Broadbent vs Craig Hall – It will be a game to remember for Broadbent who spent the majority of the 2022 season on loan with Fev, but like Hall he can feature in a number of positions. Both are great attacking outside backs who can feature at wing, centre or fullback and both can shift during the game.

Jacob Hookem vs Jonathon Ford – Two halves, the Tigers’ Hookem is still cutting his teeth as a young player but if pre-season is anything to go by, he is bursting with enthusiasm and confidence, his likely opposite number in Ford is an experienced and composed playmaker who also has size on his side.

Cain Robb vs Matty Wildie – A rising star who finished the last game of the Fords’ 2022 season in a tremendous fashion, causing havoc at the ruck and tackling anything he could, regardless of size. The game on New Year’s Eve could give Robb the chance to lead from the front, and his opposite number in Wildie will give him challenges during the game for sure.

Mahe Fonua vs Joey Leilua – Both have NRL experience, both are explosive and exciting in equal measure and will be looking to make the most of the ball on their respective edges. Fonua was one of only four players to feature in every single one of his team’s Super League games last season and he closes out 2022 with one more match.

Alex Sutcliffe has worked his way back from a knee injury and is now looking to kick on as he heads into his second season as a Castleford player.

“Getting back into it and into the team stuff has been easier, it means I’ve been doing team stuff rather than just getting flogged on the sideline!

“Everyone is itching for a game and wanting pre-season to be over, no-one likes pre-season and if you say you like it then you are lying because it’s cold and not nice! Everyone is ready to go and wanting a game and the season to start now.”

WATCH OUR CHAT WITH SUTTY ON TIGERS TV

If you are not heading to Post Office Road on New Year’s Eve then you can follow the game on Castleford Tigers’ social media pages.

Live updates will be provided on our Twitter page, take a sneak behind-the-scenes on our Instagram account, or see Facebook page and full reaction across our website too on castlefordtigers.com.