Castleford Tigers boss Powell hails rookie winger Tuoyo Egodo

Coach Daryl Powell was pleased with the 20-year-old’s performance in Tigers’ final pre-season game, away to Newcastle Thunder last weekend.

Egodo bagged a brace of tries as Tigers won 42-6 and Powell enthused: “He was excellent in the centre and he played a bit in the back-row and was a real stand-out.

“He has got the potential [to force his way into the first team this year]. He is starting to pick things up much better than he did last year.

“He scored a hat-trick on his debut against Hull, on the wing, but he’s more of a centre. I don’t see any reason why he can’t be up there challenging our senior centres. We are pretty strong in the centres and he is a strong, powerful player. He could get some opportunities this year – I am getting more and more confident of his ability to play in the first team.”

Tigers begin their Betfred Super League campaign at St Helens in three days’ time and Powell said several of the team which faced Newcastle have forced their way into contention.

He added: “There were some really solid performances and it was a good team performance. It was pretty pleasing. All the senior players did some really good things – Jamie Ellis, Matt Cook, Alex Foster and Mike McMeeken all played well. It was a really solid defensive performance and in tough conditions we played some smart stuff.”

Greg Minikin made his return following shoulder surgery and Powell said: “He came through okay and did some good things.”

That leaves only Gadwin Springer on Tigers’ casualty list.