Castleford Tigers director of rugby Chris Chester believes his side should be aiming for a play-off push in 2026, with the club set to undergo a dramatic rebuild this off-season.
The Fords have endured yet another turbulent campaign in 2025. Their season began in the worst way possible after being dumped out of the Challenge Cup at the first attempt by Championship outfit Bradford Bulls, and after an inconsistent start to the league campaign head coach Danny McGuire was handed his marching orders.
A defeat to Salford Red Devils followed shortly after, putting their woes even more under the spotlight, before then being hammered by Hull KR, St Helens, Leeds Rhinos and Leigh Leopards.
But, despite all of that, things are looking a touch brighter heading into next season. A wave of new recruits have been announced for 2026, headlined by NRL stars Mikaele Ravalawa and Blake Taaffe, while St George Illawarra assistant coach Ryan Carr will also take the reins as head coach after penning a three-year deal.
‘We’re here to compete’
These major changes leave Chester daring to dream come next year, with the DoR even hoping for an ambitious play-off push.
“Our intentions aren’t to just make up the numbers,” he said. “We’re here to compete really hard and be in and around that six next year.”
Turning the club around from basement dwellers to genuine top six contenders seems easier said than done at this point, though, with Castleford seeing major upheaval, both on and off the pitch, in the six years since their last play-off berth.
Daryl Powell, Lee Radford, Andy Last, Danny Ward, Craig Lingard and McGuire have all come and gone as the club’s head coach in that time, while they have finished in the bottom three in each of the past two seasons.
They are on course to make it three on the spin too, with the club currently languishing in 10th and on fewer points than last year.
‘The players we’re bringing over are winners’
But, despite all of that, Chester is confident that Carr’s appointment and the calibre of recruit they have tempted to the OneBore for next year will end this downward slump and fire them back to the play-offs.
“I think the quality of the player and the quality of the coach, that’s two quick and easy fixes.
“The players we’re bringing over are winners; they’re used to winning. We’re used to losing, so we want to bring players with a winning mentality and have that experience in big games.
“You look at Ravalawa, an international, Blake got to a semi with Souths (Sydney Rabbitohs). We’ve got some big players in our team for 2026, and they’re all competitive and are all winners.
Alongside the wave of NRL recruits, they have also turned to Super League to bolster their squad for the new season, with Jordan Lane signing on a four-year deal and Jack Ashworth also understood to be following him from the MKM too.
“We don’t want to be chopping and changing every 12 months,” Chester continued. “It’s important that we tie down our influential players and our quality players.
“That’s one easy fix. Making sure we’ve got the recruitment right and that these are hardened, top-quality Super League players.
“On the coaching side of things, I’m really excited to work with Ryan (Carr). He’s coached at the highest level, helping Parramatta get to a Grand Final with Brad Arthur. I know exactly what kind of calibre of coach he is.
“The standards around the place that Ryan will demand from the playing group and the staff will also help build that winning mentality and that culture that wants to fight for everything next year.”
Underneath these, there is also a promising group of youngsters pushing through the ranks, too. Fletcher Rooney and Jensen Windley have had extended runs in the team this season, while Andy Djeukessi, Akim Matvejev and Alfie Lindsey have also been dipped in and out of the first team.
