# 2019 Castleford Tigers season

The 2019 season was the Castleford Tigers' 94th season in the Rugby Football League and their 12th consecutive season in the top flight of English rugby league. The club competed in the 2019 Super League and the 2019 Challenge Cup.

## Transfers and loans
### Transfers in

| No | Player | From | Contract | Date |
| 1 | Peter Mata'utia | Leigh Centurions | 3 years | 26 July 2018 |
| 33 | Chris Clarkson | Hull Kingston Rovers | 1 year | 15 February 2019 |
| 34 | Daniel Smith | Huddersfield Giants | 1½ years | 2 April 2019 |
| 35 | Cheyse Blair | Melbourne Storm | 3½ years | 12 April 2019 |

### Loans in

| No | Player | From | Loan type | Arrival | Return | Ref. |
| 32 | Jordan Rankin | Huddersfield Giants | Season-long | 11 January 2019 | Permanent | |

### Transfers out

| No | Player | To | Contract | Date |
| 3 | Jake Webster | Bradford Bulls | 2 years | 21 August 2018 |
| 30 | Brandon Douglas | Doncaster | 1 year | 8 October 2018 |
| 19 | Gadwin Springer | Toronto Wolfpack | 1 year | 18 October 2018 |
| 34 | Quentin Laulu-Togaga'e | Halifax | 1 year | 7 November 2018 |
| 19 | Ben Roberts | Retired | Retired | 20 March 2019 |
| 21 | Mitch Clark | Leigh Centurions | ½ year | 18 July 2019 |

### Loans out

| No | Player | To | Loan type | Departure | Return |
| 26 | Kieran Gill | Newcastle Thunder | Season-long | 16 November 2018 | Permanent |
| 22 | Joe Wardle | Huddersfield Giants | Season-long | 11 January 2019 | Permanent |
| 27 | Calum Turner | Featherstone Rovers | One-month | 30 January 2019 | 13 March 2019 |
| 24 | Cory Aston | Newcastle Thunder | One-month | 14 March 2019 | 14 April 2019 |
| 27 | Calum Turner | Featherstone Rovers | One-month | 7 June 2019 | 7 July 2019 |

### Dual registration

Castleford also agreed a dual registration arrangement with Halifax R.L.F.C. in the Championship.
| Club | No | Player | App | T | G | DG | Pts |
| Halifax | 21 | Mitch Clark | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Halifax | 23 | Will Maher | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Halifax | 29 | Jacques O'Neill | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
    Source: RLRKC – Halifax 2019
* ↑ Mata'utia initially joined on loan during the 2018 season, with the deal being made permanent ahead of 2019
* ↑ Clarkson signed a permanent deal following a successful trial period
* 1 2 The deal was extended for the 2020 season on 3 October 2019
* ↑ On 6 June 2019, the Wigan Warriors had announced the signing of Clark from the 2020 season onwards. Castleford rejected Wigan's approaches to sign Clark with immediate effect, instead allowing him to move to Leigh.
* ↑ The deal was made permanent on 3 September 2019

## Pre-season friendlies

| Date | Opposition | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Drop goals | Source |
| Sun 30 December | Featherstone Rovers | H | Wheldon Road | W | 56–0 | Gill (3), Clare (2), Carr (3), Minikin, Sweeting, Turner | Aston (6) | | |
| Sun 20 January | Leeds Rhinos | A | Headingley Stadium | W | 26–24 | Shenton, Clare (2), Moors, Foster, McShane | Rankin | | |
* ↑ Kallum Watkins' testimonial match

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

| Date | Round | Opposition | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Drop goals | Attendance |
| Fri 1 February | 1 | Catalans Dragons | H | Wheldon Road | W | 20–4 | McShane, Eden (2) | McShane (4) | | 7,494 |
| Thu 7 February | 2 | Hull FC | A | KCOM Stadium | W | 26–18 | Shenton (2), Sene-Lefao, Clare, Moors | McShane (2), Rankin | | 11,244 |
| Sat 23 February | 3 | London Broncos | A | Trailfinders Sports Ground | W | 40–6 | Mata'utia, Trueman, Moors, Sene-Lefao, Watts, Eden, Rankin | McShane (5), Rankin | | 2,053 |
| Fri 1 March | 4 | Hull Kingston Rovers | H | Wheldon Road | W | 32–16 | Rankin, Watts, Eden (2), Clare, Clarkson | McShane, Rankin (3) | | 8,770 |
| Thu 7 March | 5 | Warrington Wolves | A | Halliwell Jones Stadium | L | 10–24 | Eden, Minikin | Rankin | | 9,231 |
| Sun 17 March | 6 | Salford Red Devils | H | Wheldon Road | W | 24–20 | Massey, Rankin, Eden, Sene-Lefao | Rankin (4) | | 7,750 |
| Fri 22 March | 7 | St Helens | H | Wheldon Road | L | 12–42 | Shenton, Trueman | Rankin (2) | | 8,042 |
| Thu 28 March | 8 | Leeds Rhinos | A | Headingley Stadium | L | 20–21 (GP) | Watts, Minikin, Clarkson, Foster | Turner (2) | | 12,295 |
| Fri 5 April | 9 | Wigan Warriors | H | Wheldon Road | W | 38–28 | Holmes, Turner, Clark, Cook, Milner, Egodo, Mata'utia | Mata'utia (5) | | 6,839 |
| Thu 11 April | 10 | Huddersfield Giants | A | Kirklees Stadium | L | 18–20 | Eden, Cook | Mata'utia (5) | | 4,684 |
| Thu 18 April | 11 | Wakefield Trinity | H | Wheldon Road | W | 28–26 | Clare (2), Sene-Lefao, Aston, Minikin | Mata'utia (4) | | 9,316 |
| Mon 22 April | 12 | Catalans Dragons | A | Stade Gilbert Brutus | L | 16–37 | Eden (2), Aston | Mata'utia (2) | | 10,120 |
| Sat 27 April | 13 | Wigan Warriors | A | DW Stadium | L | 4–6 | | Mata'utia (2) | | 10,058 |
| Fri 3 May | 14 | Warrington Wolves | H | Wheldon Road | L | 14–26 | Aston, Egodo, Minikin | Mata'utia | | 5,323 |
| Thu 16 May | 15 | Leeds Rhinos | A | Headingley Stadium | W | 30–8 | Sene-Lefao (2), Eden, Clare, Trueman | Mata'utia (5) | | 13,286 |
| Sun 26 May | 16 | St Helens | N | Anfield | L | 16–36 | Millington, Clarkson, Eden | Mata'utia, Rankin | | 26,812 |
| Fri 7 June | 17 | Huddersfield Giants | H | Wheldon Road | W | 27–26 (GP) | Minikin, Watts, Millington | Mata'utia (7) | Mata'utia | 7,483 |
| Thu 13 June | 18 | Hull FC | H | Wheldon Road | L | 18–31 | Minikin, Moors, Eden | Mata'utia (3) | | 6,344 |
| Fri 21 June | 19 | Salford Red Devils | A | AJ Bell Stadium | L | 16–26 | Smith, Minikin, Rankin | Mata'utia (2) | | 2,829 |
| Sun 30 June | 20 | London Broncos | H | Wheldon Road | W | 42–10 | Egodo (2), McMeeken (2), Rankin, Trueman, Clare, Clarkson | Rankin (5) | | 6,860 |
| Fri 5 July | 21 | Leeds Rhinos | H | Wheldon Road | L | 10–18 | Clare (2) | Rankin | | 8,147 |
| Fri 12 July | 22 | Wakefield Trinity | A | Belle Vue | W | 36–16 | Egodo, Holmes, Clare (3), Rankin (2) | Mata'utia (4) | | 6,244 |
| Sun 21 July | 23 | Warrington Wolves | H | Wheldon Road | W | 27–18 | Clare, Minikin, Trueman, Egodo | Mata'utia (5) | Trueman | 6,965 |
| Sun 4 August | 24 | Hull Kingston Rovers | A | Craven Park | L | 26–27 (GP) | Mata'utia, Rankin, Clare, Minikin | Mata'utia (5) | | 8,004 |
| Sat 10 August | 25 | London Broncos | H | Wheldon Road | W | 20–6 | Egodo (2), Holmes, O'Neill | Ellis (2) | | 5,497 |
| Sun 18 August | 26 | Huddersfield Giants | A | Kirklees Stadium | W | 24–0 | Clare, Milner, McMeeken, Sene-Lefao | Ellis (4) | | 4,636 |
| Fri 30 August | 27 | St Helens | A | Totally Wicked Stadium | L | 0–4 | | | | 10,315 |
| Thu 5 September | 28 | Hull FC | H | Wheldon Road | W | 44–12 | Blair, Trueman (3), Clare, Rankin, Cook | Ellis (8) | | 6,712 |
| Thu 12 September | 29 | Wigan Warriors | A | DW Stadium | L | 8–26 | Blair | Ellis (2) | | 11,001 |
    Sources: RLRKC – Castleford Tigers 2019 & Rugby League Project

#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | St. Helens (C, L) | 29 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 916 | 395 | +521 | 52 | Semi Final |
| 2 | Wigan Warriors | 29 | 18 | 0 | 11 | 699 | 539 | +160 | 36 | Qualifying Final |
| 3 | Salford Red Devils | 29 | 17 | 0 | 12 | 783 | 597 | +186 | 34 | Qualifying Final |
| 4 | Warrington Wolves | 29 | 16 | 0 | 13 | 709 | 533 | +176 | 32 | Elimination Final |
| 5 | Castleford Tigers | 29 | 15 | 0 | 14 | 646 | 558 | +88 | 30 | Elimination Final |
| 6 | Hull F.C. | 29 | 15 | 0 | 14 | 645 | 768 | −123 | 30 | |
| 7 | Catalans Dragons | 29 | 13 | 0 | 16 | 553 | 745 | −192 | 26 | |
| 8 | Leeds Rhinos | 29 | 12 | 0 | 17 | 650 | 644 | +6 | 24 | |
| 9 | Wakefield Trinity | 29 | 11 | 0 | 18 | 608 | 723 | −115 | 22 | |
| 10 | Huddersfield Giants | 29 | 11 | 0 | 18 | 571 | 776 | −205 | 22 | |
| 11 | Hull KR | 29 | 10 | 0 | 19 | 548 | 768 | −220 | 20 | |
| 12 | London Broncos (R) | 29 | 10 | 0 | 19 | 505 | 787 | −282 | 20 | Relegated to Championship |

### Playoffs

| Date | Round | Opposition | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Drop goals | Attendance | Source |
| Thu 19 September | Elimination play-off | Warrington Wolves | A | Halliwell Jones Stadium | W | 14–12 | Milner, Rankin | Mata'utia (3) | | 5,627 | |
| Thu 26 September | Elimination semi-final | Salford Red Devils | A | AJ Bell Stadium | L | 0–22 | | | | 4,800 | |

## Challenge Cup
### Results

| Date | Round | Opposition | H/A | Venue | Result | Score | Tries | Goals | Drop goals | Attendance | Source |
| Fri 10 May | 6 | Hull FC | A | KCOM Stadium | L | 12–28 | Clare, Aston | Mata'utia (2) | | 6,230 | |

## Player statistics
### Summary

| No | Player | App | T | G | DG | Pts |
| 1 | Peter Mata'utia | 31 | 3 | 56 | 1 | 125 |
| 2 | James Clare | 30 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 64 |
| 3 | Greg Minikin | 30 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| 4 | Michael Shenton | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 5 | Greg Eden | 21 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 52 |
| 6 | Jake Trueman | 31 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 33 |
| 7 | Luke Gale | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Liam Watts | 30 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 9 | Paul McShane | 28 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 28 |
| 10 | Grant Millington | 26 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 11 | Oliver Holmes | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 12 | Mike McMeeken | 22 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 13 | Adam Milner | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 14 | Nathan Massey | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 15 | Jesse Sene-Lefao | 25 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
| 16 | Junior Moors | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 17 | Alex Foster | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 18 | Matt Cook | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 19 | Ben Roberts | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Jamie Ellis | 5 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 32 |
| 21 | Mitch Clark | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 22 | Joe Wardle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Will Maher | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | Cory Aston | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 25 | Tuoyo Egodo | 12 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
| 26 | Kieran Gill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Calum Turner | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| 28 | Lewis Peachey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Jacques O'Neill | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 30 | Robbie Storey | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Lewis Carr | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | Jordan Rankin | 24 | 10 | 19 | 0 | 78 |
| 33 | Chris Clarkson | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 34 | Daniel Smith | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 35 | Cheyse Blair | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
    Source: RLRKC – Castleford Tigers 2019