Rooney reflects on Yorkshire experience

Castleford Tigers Academy star Fletcher Rooney recently had the honour of being selected for Yorkshire for their deciding Academy Origin fixture against Lancashire last weekend.

The Halliwell Jones Stadium played host to the final contest of the series, with a young Yorkshire outfit suffering a 42-20 defeat which clinched a series victory for the Red Roses.

Rooney played in the slightly unfamiliar position of centre on the day, and when talking to castlefordtigers.com, the Fords’ Academy standout began by explaining how grateful he was for the experience as a whole despite the result.

“It was great to be around players that are at a high level and have been there before. I learned a lot from them. The training was quick and everyone was switched on.

“It wasn’t the result we wanted but as I said, it was a good experience. I was playing at centre which isn’t my usual position, but I really appreciated the opportunity to play.”

The Cas full-back has enjoyed a successful season in his first year in the Academy ranks, impressing on a regular basis which earned him the call-up to represent his county recently.

His exploits also provided him with the opportunity to represent the Tigers at Reserves level, which is something he affirms has aided his progression this year.

“It’s been good this year stepping up from scholarship. I have come on a lot this year physically and skill-wise as well. Everything is set out for you here with your gym programmes so all you have to focus on is performing well and training hard.

“It’s another good experience to be playing with players who are involved with the first team so being able to take a bit from their game into mine has helped.”

Fellow youngsters Daniel Sarbah, Alfie Dean, Alfie Horwell, Woody Walker, and Jaiden Tang have all made the jump from Academy to the Reserves ranks at times this campaign, which Rooney stated illustrates the player pathway which is available at the Tigers.

“There’s definitely that pathway here because there are players who have started at scholarship and have gone on to play for the first team, so you know the pathway is there you just have to work hard to get through it.”

Cas’ Academy squad face Bradford Bulls away from home at Odsal Stadium this Thursday with kick-off getting underway at 7pm.