Culture change lifting Castleford Tigers as 'good pick up' shows way forward
Australian centre Krystian Mapapalangi typifies the sort of team Castleford Tigers want to be, their coach Ryan Carr says.
The former Newcastle Knights man, who joined Castleford in pre-season from Wests Tigers, was outstanding during last weekend’s 26-16 loss to Wigan Warriors in Betfred Super League round one. For a new boss who is trying to change Castleford’s mindset as much as the way they play, the 23-year-old is a shining example.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s game at Toulouse Olympique, Carr described Mapapalangi as “a great pick-up”. He enthused: “He only got here two weeks ago, but you wouldn’t know that from how well he has fitted in and how well he played last weekend.
“That’s a testament to his character and how much he has bought in in such a short space of time. The level of care and passion he played with goes to show the sport of culture we are building here, which is a really pleasing sign for me as a coach.”
Carr feels last week’s battling performance - and his players’ dejected reaction to the result - shows they are on the right track. “We were really pleased with a lot of areas of our game, but obviously disappointed with the result,” he reflected.
“We took a lot of learning out of that and we’re looking to take another step forward as a group this weekend. I saw a group of players who put their body on the line for the full 80 minutes and threw everything at that contest. It was a disappointed group, not a group that was okay with it.
“Possibly in years gone by that might have been the case, where it has been okay to have a go, but it’s something we are trying to change in our mentality. We are in a performance-based business, professional sport.”
Carr stressed: “We are here to win, that’s what we are here for every day. Our review was really positive, we took a lot out of it. Our accountability is really high among the group and every day we’ve trained - this week and in pre-season - I feel like we’ve got better as a group.
“We are learning a lot about how we need to play as a team, what style suits us and what we need to do to make sure we are on the right side of the scoreboard every week. I have been really happy with the training week.”
Tigers will need to dig deep to get off the mark at Toulouse who pulled off a shock 18-16 win away to Wakefield Trinity last week in their first top-flight game since 2022. “They compete really hard,” Carr – who give debuts to recruits Ashton Golding and George Hirst – observed.
“I was really impressed with how hard they went after the contest. They found a way to grind that win out and they’ve obviously got a lot of camaraderie and support for each other. They look like a tight-knit group and they’ve got some real threats we are going to have to be good on.
“We’ve got the utmost respect for this weekend’s game and we know it’s going to be a big occasion for them playing back at home. It should be a good atmosphere, which we are excited to be a part of.”
Toulouse Olympique: from Ashall-Bott, Ulberg, Rennie, Laguerre, Lacans, Belmas, Hands, Stefani, Jussaume, Marion, Cator, Bretherton, Butler, Tropis, Wallace, Dupree, Lima, Polselli, Chiffolleau, Garrigues, Rouge.
Castleford Tigers: from McIntosh, Ravalawa, Asi, Weaver, Atoni, Hood, Lawler, Lane, Mellor, Stimson, Greacen, Westerman, Atkin, Rooney, Singleton, Qareqare, Mapapalangi, Hall, Beckett, Golding, Hirst.
Referee: Marcus Griffiths (Widnes). Kick-off: Saturday, 6pm UK.