Castleford Tigers’ pursuit of former Leeds Rhinos prop Jack Ormondroyd has been put “on the back burner”.
Tigers coach Danny McGuire hasn’t ruled out making a signing before the season starts next week, but admits Ormondroyd is likely to stay at Salford Red Devils. Tigers are looking for another prop, and Ormondroyd has emerged as a top target after the RFL forced Salford to sell players in a cost-cutting move.
So far, the Red Devils’ squad has remained intact, and an international syndicate is said to be on the approach of acquiring the club, putting it on a more stable financial basis.
McGuire played with Ormondroyd at Leeds in 2017, and during a pre-season news conference today (Friday), he said: “I like him, I believe he’s a good player and would be a good fit for us, but I don’t think anything is going there right now. I don’t know what’s going on in Salford, but they appear to be fine now. That’s probably on the back burner for a while or may not happen.”
McGuire insisted: “I’m simply focused on what we have and getting the most out of the players who are here. If someone with Jack’s talent and expertise comes in, that’s great; he’ll bring something to the squad, but that’s not happening right now.”
Meanwhile, McGuire concedes the Tigers must correct some wrongs as they finish their pre-season campaign at home against Hull FC on Saturday in Joe Westerman’s testimonial game. The coach has chosen a 20-man squad, 19 of whom played in the Tigers’ 32-8 loss to Wakefield Trinity last week.
After employing 29 players in that game, he stated, “We’re trying to keep it a little more real this week, a little more like we would in a week when we have a competitive game.” The 20 will all have game time and the chance to put their best foot forward in the first game. I don’t think we did ourselves justice last week at Wakey, but we’re at home in front of our own crowd, so we have an opportunity to make things right.
“We wanted to make a nice first impression last week, but we didn’t quite achieve it. There was a sense of disappointment about the location, which is wonderful. It tells me they care and desire to improve. I’d be astonished and disappointed if we didn’t get a reaction this week.
Centre Josh Hodson is out due to sickness, as is winger Jason Qareqare, who is expected to miss next Sunday’s Betfred Challenge Cup third round clash against Bradford Bulls. “He pulled out of training the other day,” McGuire told Qareqare. “It was some form of hamstring so I need to double-check with the doctors and medical staff, but he won’t play this week and will probably be out for a few weeks.”
Castleford Tigers (against Hull): Hoy, Cini, Wood, Senior, Asi, Watts, Horne, Lawler, Simbiken, Mellor, Westerman, Rimbu, Griffin, Robb, Hooley, Mustapha, Namo, Rooney, Simm, Okoro.
Kickoff is at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
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