Castleford Tigers offer first team chance to up and coming trio - including former Leeds Rhinos prospect

Hooker Cain Robb, 18, has signed a two-year contract, 19-year-old second-rower Martin has extended his deal for a year and Brad Graham, a centre, is also aiming for a place in the senior side in 2021.

Graham, 19, made his Super League debut against Hull last year and Martin featured in Tigers’ win over Hull KR.

Robb was called into the 21-man squad to face Leeds in October, but not selected for the matchday 17.

Tigers coach Daryl Powell reckons all three have the potential to make the grade in Betfred Super League.

“We’ve been super-impressed with Cain, his commitment to being a professional rugby league player is outstanding,” Powell said.

“He puts everything in there; he’s prepared to talk, he has got some real instinct as a nine and is sharp out of dummy-half.

“We think he’s got a decent future in the game, he is learning from a class nine in Paul McShane, but he’ll learn from anybody and I think it’s one of his biggest attributes.”

Of Graham, Powell said: “He has a good physical frame, a good kid and I think the same with all these young players’ parents, they have done an awesome job in helping them to mature as young men.

“The jury is out a little bit on whether Brad is a centre or a back-rower because he is probably going to grow to be capable of playing in the back-row too.

“He’s another player with a really great attitude; there is no doubt he will work exceptionally hard to achieve his goals.”

Powell described Martin as “one of those players who players don’t like to train against”.

He said: “He’s a handful and pretty explosive and fearless to boot. When he played last year, he showed up pretty well, really strong; he got knocked out, but he just needs to work on where to put his head when defending.

“He has got potential and his explosiveness lends him to back- or front-row. We’ve got some good young players at the club at the moment and he is one of them.”

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