Castleford Tigers are in the very early stages of a new era at the club, but despite a shaky start to 2026 they have actually recorded their best opening to a season since 2021.
In a stat that highlights just how disappointing the past few years have been for the club, the Tigers’ two wins in their opening six games is more than they have had in each of the past four seasons.
Whilst it is still very early days, the club are clearly doing something right – however the 72-6 defeat to Warrington Wolves in round five certainly shows there is still a long way to go before Chris Chester and Ryan Carr are left pleased with their work.
Those two men are the spearheads of this new era at the West Yorkshire club, and have been tasked with putting new life back into a side that have reached both a Grand Final and a Challenge Cup Final within the last decade.
Chester, who arrived at the club from Leigh Leopards part-way through 2025, has already had to make some huge decisions in his time as Director of Rugby, including removing Danny McGuire from his position as head coach and replacing him with someone who can drive the team forward and create a new identity and culture around the Onebore Stadium. Carr was chosen to be that man, and he has signed a three-year contract as he looks to rebuild rugby league in Castleford following seasons of frustration.
Speaking to The Bench podcast ahead of the Tigers’ would-be victory over Bradford Bulls, the former Wakefield and Hull KR boss reflected on how the Castleford “project” has gone so far, with some sunlight starting to shine through the cracks already.
“It’s bigger than I thought,” Chester said in relation to the task at hand. “When I first walked in, we had to make some changes at the club. I just felt there was a real disconnect in the club – staff, players, and disconnect with the fans.
“Everything just looked run down and in disrepair. I knew it was going to take some time, I knew it was going to be a big challenge, but probably didn’t realise until I actually walked through the door on that first day how big a challenge it was going to be.”
Asked what a successful 2026 season would look like for the Amber and Black outfit, the Director of Rugby explained: “We said it in pre-season. What we need this year is we need the town to be proud of this club again. I think they’re fed up of words.
“I think over the last four or five years we’ve really let the town down. There’s been a real disconnect, as I said earlier. I think that is Ryan Carr’s main target in 2026.
“It’s to make sure that we leave everything on the field. We obviously didn’t do that last weekend [losing 72-6 to Warrington]. We let his fans down and we know that.
“The good thing about it is it’s a short turnaround. We’ve not really had time to dwell on Saturday’s performance.”
Castleford bounced back in spectacular fashion, scoring seven tries in a 40-28 victory over Bradford, with winger Jason Qareqare crossing for a hat-trick thanks to the help from centre partner Krystian Mapapalangi.
The Tigers now have upcoming games against Wakefield Trinity in rivals round, Wigan, Hull FC and Hull KR so their next month of action is looking pivotal, and efforts like in the Bradford game will need to be replicated in those matches for Carr and the fans to come away from those ties pleased.
Danny McGuire’s Castleford Tigers exit explained
As mentioned, the biggest decision Chester has had to make is parting ways with McGuire as head coach after just 17 games in charge. McGuire was handed a three-year deal starting in 2025, but after just four wins in those games, the 47-year-old knew something had to change.
“That’s the first time I’ve had to do it,” Chester said in regards to the sacking of McGuire. “It was an awful experience. I didn’t enjoy it one bit. We as a club felt that we needed to go in a different direction.”
The former Leigh Director explained how he saw similarities to himself in the Leeds legend, making the decision all-the-more difficult.
He continued: “I think if Danny had his time again… very similar [situation] to me at Hull KR jumping into something.
“Although I’d had an apprenticeship, I’d worked under some really good coaches and been coached by some good people and coached the academy, coached the reserves at Hull KR, I coached an amateur side… I probably wasn’t ready for the role at Hull KR.
“I think maybe if Danny had his time again, I don’t know. I’ve not really spoke to him since, but he’s probably been thrown into a role there.
“As a club, we had to take some responsibility. We didn’t provide Danny with the personnel, with the players. We’ve got to take a little bit there.
“That was tough. I don’t want to have to do that again. I know I will have to do it again at some point. It didn’t go down really well with Danny.”
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