Some local lads playing super league for other clubs: Daz Clark, Joe Westerman, Ben Crooks, Liam Watts, Gareth Ellis, Brett Ferres. OK, not as in 19/20 yrs old. We need to find the key to keeping them. The academy now doing OK.fast hands wrote:This is no criticism of any one , but perhaps in recent years unfortunately Castleford & District haven't produced a lad of super league standard. Lots are playing Championship level which is a great achievement to the lads, but super league is a different level. This isn't DP's fault or any coaches at local clubs. Hopefully a couple of gems will be unearthed and hopefully we will be able to keep them at our club. I have watched local rugby over the years, and seen lads who I thought will make it, but was wrong, because it takes a special person to get to the highest level.
Back to the Gale post, hope he is ok for Saturday, and he is local, we have made him into international class, although to a degree, he is classed as a loiner.
In the 70's all the local junior schools played competitive RL. From Airedale in 1971 and the next five years, Andy Goodway, Andy Timson, Gary Hyde, Shaun Irwin, Bob and Kev Beardmore, Steve Watts and others. From Cas schools not including Airedale, lots more!
Sadly, youngsters are not introduced to RL in school as they once were. The raw material must still be there.