# 2017 Castleford Tigers season

The 2017 season was the Castleford Tigers' 92nd season in the Rugby Football League and their 10th consecutive season in the top flight of English rugby league. The club competed in the 2017 Super League and the 2017 Challenge Cup.

## Transfers and loans
### Gains

| No | Player | From | Contract | Date |
| 5 | Greg Eden | Brisbane Broncos | 2 years | 13 June 2016 |
| 27 | Tuoyo Egodo | London Broncos | 2 years | 17 October 2016 |
| 32 | Daniel Igbinedion | Oxford Rugby League | 2 years | 18 October 2016 |
| 15 | Jesse Sene-Lefao | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 2 years | 20 October 2016 |
| 35 | Jake Trueman | Bradford Bulls | 2 years | 25 January 2017 |
| 33 | Kevin Larroyer | Hull Kingston Rovers | 1 year | 15 February 2017 |
| 34 | Alex Foster | Bradford Bulls | 1 year | 16 February 2022 |
| 1 | Zak Hardaker | Leeds Rhinos | 4½ years | 27 June 2017 |

### Loans in

| No | Player | From | Loan type | Arrival | Return |
| 1 | Zak Hardaker | Leeds Rhinos | Season-long | 8 November 2016 | Permanent |

### Losses

| No | Player | To | Contract | Date |
| 14 | Lee Jewitt | Townsville Blackhawks | 1 year | 6 April 2016 |
| 1 | Luke Dorn | Retired | Retired | 13 May 2016 |
| 20 | Frankie Mariano | Featherstone Rovers | 1 year | 1 September 2016 |
| 21 | Ryan Boyle | Halifax RLFC | 1 year | 19 October 2016 |
| 5 | Denny Solomona | Retired | Retired | 13 December 2016 |
| 31 | Brandon Westerman | Released | – | 22 January 2017 |
| 6 | Rangi Chase | Widnes Vikings | 2 years | 7 July 2017 |

### Loans out

| No | Player | To | Loan type | Departure | Return |
| 26 | Kieran Gill | Oldham RLFC | Season-long, recall | 31 August 2016 | 2 May 2017 |
| 22 | Will Maher | Batley Bulldogs | Season-long, recall | 13 October 2016 | 20 September 2017 |
| 23 | Tom Holmes | Batley Bulldogs | Season-long, recall | 13 October 2016 | 2 May 2017 |
| 28 | Conor Fitzsimmons | Workington Town | Season-long | 31 October 2016 | 20 September 2017 |
| 19 | Ben Crooks | Leigh Centurions | Season-long | 7 November 2016 | Permanent |
| 25 | Jy Hitchcox | Batley Bulldogs | Season-long, recall | 11 November 2016 | 2 June 2017 |
| 27 | Tuoyo Egodo | Oldham RLFC | Season-long, recall | 24 January 2017 | 16 June 2017 |
| 33 | Kevin Larroyer | Bradford Bulls | Season-long, recall | 15 February 2017 | 2 May 2017 |
| 24 | Brandon Douglas | Dewsbury Rams | Season-long, recall | 15 March 2017 | 13 May 2017 |
| 6 | Rangi Chase | Widnes Vikings | Season-long | 15 May 2017 | Permanent |
| 24 | Brandon Douglas | Halifax RLFC | Season-long, recall | 19 May 2017 | 16 September 2017 |
| 27 | Tuoyo Egodo | York City Knights | Season-long, recall | 23 June 2017 | 20 September 2017 |

### Dual registration

Castleford also agreed dual registration partnerships with the Batley Bulldogs in the RFL Championship and Oxford in League 1.
* 1 2 With an option for a further 2 years
* ↑ Released without appearing for Bradford after the Bulls entered administration, having most recently played for the London Broncos
* ↑ Hardaker initially joined on loan from Leeds, with the deal being made permanent during the season
* ↑ The deal was made permanent on 27 June 2017
* ↑ Solomona controversially retired from rugby league, aged 23 and with 2 years left on his contract, in order to join rugby union side Sale Sharks
* ↑ The deal was made permanent on 4 October 2017
* ↑ The deal was made permanent on 7 July 2017

## Pre-season friendlies

| Date | Opposition | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals |
| Mon 26 December | Hull FC | H | Wheldon Road | W | 42–10 | McMeeken, Hardaker, Minikin (2), Eden (3), Egodo, Million | McShane (2/6), Hardaker (0/1), Turner (1/2) |
| Sun 15 January | Wakefield Trinity | A | Belle Vue | L | 30–32 | Gale, Minikin, McShane, Eden, Million | Gale (4/4), Eden (1/1) |
| Fri 27 January | Batley Bulldogs | A | Mount Pleasant | L | 12–38 | Gill, Sheehan | Sweeting (2/2) |
| Sun 29 January | St Helens | A | Totally Wicked Stadium | W | 22–6 | Chase, Hardaker, Sene-Lefao, Millington | Gale (3/4) |

## Super League
### Regular season
#### Results

| Date | Round | Opposition | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Drop goals | Attendance |
| Fri 10 February | 1 | Leigh Centurions | H | Wheldon Road | W | 44–16 | Gale (2), Sene-Lefao, Minikin (2), Moors, Eden | Gale (8) | | 8,522 |
| Fri 24 February | 2 | Warrington Wolves | A | Halliwell Jones Stadium | W | 30–22 | Sene-Lefao, Hardaker, Eden (2), Gale, Minikin | Gale (3) | | 11,374 |
| Thu 2 March | 3 | Leeds Rhinos | H | Wheldon Road | W | 66–10 | Eden (3), Minikin (3), McMeeken, Hardaker, McShane, Webster, Gale, Shenton | Gale (9) | | 11,500 |
| Sun 12 March | 4 | Widnes Vikings | A | Halton Stadium | W | 34–0 | Minikin (2), Shenton, Eden (2), Cook | Gale (5) | | 6,396 |
| Sun 19 March | 5 | Salford Red Devils | A | AJ Bell Stadium | L | 12–13 | Gale, Minikin | Gale (2) | | 5,221 |
| Sun 26 March | 6 | Catalans Dragons | H | Wheldon Road | W | 43–26 | Hardaker, Millington, Monaghan, Eden (2), Moors, Shenton | Gale (7) | Gale | 8,126 |
| Fri 31 March | 7 | Huddersfield Giants | H | Wheldon Road | W | 52–16 | Roberts, Webster, McMeeken, Gale (3), Milner, Monaghan (3) | Gale (6) | | 8,035 |
| Thu 6 April | 8 | Wigan Warriors | A | DW Stadium | W | 27–10 | Webster, Gale, Sene-Lefao, Eden | Gale (5) | Gale | 12,423 |
| Fri 14 April | 9 | Wakefield Trinity | H | Wheldon Road | W | 42–24 | Roberts, Webster (2), O Holmes, Millington (2), Eden | Gale (7) | | 10,349 |
| Mon 17 April | 10 | St Helens | A | Totally Wicked Stadium | L | 22–26 | Eden (2), Roberts (2) | Gale (3) | | 6,171 |
| Sun 23 April | 11 | Hull FC | A | KCOM Stadium | L | 24–26 | Minikin, Roberts (2), Shenton, McMeeken | McShane (2) | | 12,801 |
| Sat 29 April | 12 | Wigan Warriors | H | Wheldon Road | W | 54–4 | Milner, Shenton, Cook, McMeeken, Minikin (2), Gale, Millington, Webster | Gale (8), McShane | | 9,333 |
| Thu 4 May | 13 | Huddersfield Giants | A | Kirklees Stadium | W | 26–21 | Monaghan, Minikin, Eden, Sene-Lefao | McShane (5) | | 5,566 |
| Sun 21 May | 14 | Leeds Rhinos | N | St James' Park | W | 29–18 | Gale, Eden (3), T Holmes | Gale (4) | Gale | 30,046 |
| Fri 26 May | 15 | Widnes Vikings | H | Wheldon Road | W | 32–22 | Eden (3), Springer, Minikin, Cook | Gale (4) | | 7,648 |
| Mon 29 May | 16 | Leigh Centurions | A | Leigh Sports Village | W | 38–0 | Sene-Lefao (2), Eden (4), Webster | Gale (5) | | 5,905 |
| Sun 4 June | 17 | St Helens | H | Wheldon Road | W | 16–12 | Gill, McMeeken, T Holmes | McShane (2) | | 8,515 |
| Sun 11 June | 18 | Warrington Wolves | H | Wheldon Road | W | 36–16 | Eden (5), Minikin, McMeeken | Gale (4) | | 8,577 |
| Fri 23 June | 19 | Leeds Rhinos | A | Headingley Stadium | W | 23–12 | Eden, Hardaker, Millington | Gale (5) | Gale | 18,029 |
| Fri 30 June | 20 | Hull FC | H | Wheldon Road | W | 24–22 | Gale, McMeeken, Hardaker | Gale (6) | | 8,371 |
| Thu 6 July | 21 | Wakefield Trinity | A | Belle Vue | W | 25–24 | Eden, Millington, McMeeken, Webster | Gale (4) | Gale | 6,430 |
| Fri 14 July | 22 | Salford Red Devils | H | Wheldon Road | W | 38–14 | Eden (2), Roberts, Monaghan (2), Hardaker | Gale (7) | | 7,094 |
| Sat 22 July | 23 | Catalans Dragons | A | Stade Gilbert Brutus | W | 32–24 | Hitchcox (2), Hardaker, Minikin, McShane | Gale (5), Hardaker | | 8,657 |

#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Castleford Tigers | 23 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 769 | 378 | +391 | 40 | Super League Super 8s |
| 2 | Leeds Rhinos | 23 | 15 | 0 | 8 | 553 | 477 | +76 | 30 | Super League Super 8s |
| 3 | Hull F.C. | 23 | 13 | 1 | 9 | 541 | 483 | +58 | 27 | Super League Super 8s |
| 4 | Salford Red Devils | 23 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 576 | 500 | +76 | 26 | Super League Super 8s |
| 5 | Wakefield Trinity | 23 | 13 | 0 | 10 | 572 | 509 | +63 | 26 | Super League Super 8s |
| 6 | St. Helens | 23 | 12 | 1 | 10 | 516 | 420 | +96 | 25 | Super League Super 8s |
| 7 | Wigan Warriors | 23 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 539 | 518 | +21 | 23 | Super League Super 8s |
| 8 | Huddersfield Giants | 23 | 9 | 3 | 11 | 519 | 486 | +33 | 21 | Super League Super 8s |
| 9 | Warrington Wolves | 23 | 9 | 2 | 12 | 426 | 557 | −131 | 20 | The Qualifiers |
| 10 | Catalans Dragons | 23 | 7 | 1 | 15 | 469 | 689 | −220 | 15 | The Qualifiers |
| 11 | Leigh Centurions | 23 | 6 | 0 | 17 | 425 | 615 | −190 | 12 | The Qualifiers |
| 12 | Widnes Vikings | 23 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 359 | 632 | −273 | 11 | The Qualifiers |

### Super 8s
#### Results

| Date | Round | Opposition | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Drop goals | Attendance |
| Thu 3 August | 1 | St Helens | H | Wheldon Road | L | 12–26 | Milner, Monaghan | Gale (2) | | 6,849 |
| Fri 11 August | 2 | Salford Red Devils | A | AJ Bell Stadium | W | 23–4 | Hardaker (2), McShane, Hitchcox | Gale (3) | Gale | 2,811 |
| Thu 17 August | 3 | Wakefield Trinity | H | Wheldon Road | W | 45–20 | Hardaker (2), McMeeken, Webster (4), Eden | Gale (6) | Gale | 11,235 |
| Fri 1 September | 4 | Huddersfield Giants | A | Kirklees Stadium | W | 24–16 | Webster, Roberts, Eden, Gale | Gale (4) | | 6,284 |
| Fri 8 September | 5 | Leeds Rhinos | H | Wheldon Road | W | 38–24 | Eden, Roberts (2), Webster, Foster, Minikin | Gale (7) | | 9,557 |
| Sun 17 September | 6 | Wigan Warriors | A | DW Stadium | W | 38–20 | Eden, Trueman (3), Minikin (2), Shenton | McShane (5) | | 15,706 |
| Fri 22 September | 7 | Hull FC | H | Wheldon Road | L | 16–48 | Egodo (3) | McShane (2) | | 7,974 |

#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Castleford Tigers (L) | 30 | 25 | 0 | 5 | 965 | 536 | +429 | 50 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Leeds Rhinos (C) | 30 | 20 | 0 | 10 | 749 | 623 | +126 | 40 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Hull F.C. | 30 | 17 | 1 | 12 | 714 | 655 | +59 | 35 | Semi-finals |
| 4 | St Helens | 30 | 16 | 1 | 13 | 663 | 518 | +145 | 33 | Semi-finals |
| 5 | Wakefield Trinity | 30 | 16 | 0 | 14 | 714 | 679 | +35 | 32 | |
| 6 | Wigan Warriors | 30 | 14 | 3 | 13 | 691 | 668 | +23 | 31 | |
| 7 | Salford Red Devils | 30 | 14 | 0 | 16 | 680 | 728 | −48 | 28 | |
| 8 | Huddersfield Giants | 30 | 11 | 3 | 16 | 663 | 680 | −17 | 25 | |

### Play-offs

| Date | Round | Opposition | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Drop goals | Attendance | Source |
| Thu 28 September | Semi-Final | St Helens | H | Wheldon Road | W | 23–22 (GP) | Hardaker, Gale, Milner | Gale (5) | Gale | 11,235 | |
| Sat 7 October | Grand Final | Leeds Rhinos | N | Old Trafford | L | 6–24 | Foster | Gale | | 72,827 | |

## Challenge Cup
### Results

| Date | Round | Opposition | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Drop goals | Attendance | Source |
| Sat 13 May | 6 | St Helens | H | Wheldon Road | W | 53–10 | Shenton, Webster (2), McShane, Minikin (2), Massey, Eden (3) | Gale (6) | Gale | 5,216 | |
| Sun 18 June | QF | Hull FC | A | KCOM Stadium | L | 24–32 | Roberts (2), Hardaker, Minikin | Gale (4) | | 11,944 | |

## Player statistics
### Summary

| No | Player | App | T | G | DG | Pts |
| 1 | Zak Hardaker | 30 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 54 |
| 2 | Greg Minikin | 29 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 88 |
| 3 | Jake Webster | 28 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 64 |
| 4 | Michael Shenton | 29 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 5 | Greg Eden | 31 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 164 |
| 6 | Rangi Chase | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Luke Gale | 30 | 14 | 145 | 9 | 355 |
| 8 | Andy Lynch | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Paul McShane | 33 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 50 |
| 10 | Grant Millington | 30 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 11 | Oliver Holmes | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 12 | Mike McMeeken | 32 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| 13 | Adam Milner | 29 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 14 | Nathan Massey | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 15 | Jesse Sene-Lefao | 34 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| 16 | Ben Roberts | 29 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| 17 | Junior Moors | 23 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 18 | Matt Cook | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 19 | Gadwin Springer | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 20 | Larne Patrick | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Joel Monaghan | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| 22 | Will Maher | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Tom Holmes | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 24 | Brandon Douglas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | Jy Hitchcox | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 26 | Kieran Gill | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 27 | Tuoyo Egodo | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 28 | Conor Fitzsimmons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Luke Million | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Declan Sheehan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Brandon Westerman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Daniel Igbinedion | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Kevin Larroyer | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Alex Foster | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 35 | Jake Trueman | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
    Source: RLRKC – Castleford Tigers 2017