Fitter Castleford Tigers skipper Paul McShane buzzing for start of Super League season

McShane is feeling much healthier than 12 months ago and is determined to have an improved season personally while believing his team will also improve after making some key signings.

He cannot wait to get going in the opener against Hull on Sunday with the Tigers keen to make a better start than they did in Lee Radford’s first year as head coach when they lost their first three matches.

“Hull’s a tough place to go, they’ve signed some great players and they’ve got a new spine in there, which we don’t really know about, but we are going there hopefully to make a better start than last year,” said McShane.

"It’s massive to make a good start. We’ve just got to worry about us. We’ve got the players in the squad and I believe we can go there and win.

"The minimum aim this year is the play-offs. But I’ve got belief in this group that we can do a little bit more. On our day we can beat anyone with the squad we have.

"If you look at our squad numbers 19 to 25 the depth is definitely there and I think that’s shown in our pre-season training. People are competing to get in our first round line-up.

"We’ve recruited two really good experienced halves. Unfortunately last year we had a lot of injuries in the halves so having Milky and Gaz on board will give us a fair bit more direction, which will hopefully allow me to play nine a bit more, to be a bit more active – instead of trying to organise I can worry about me and hopefully get my running game back.”

Jack Broadbent enjoying life with Castleford Tigers following move from Leeds Rhinos

On a personal level McShane has lost four kilos in weight and is confident that will help him get back to his best in 2023.

He added: “I just wasn’t happy with the way I went last year, I felt a bit sluggish so I tried to make a few changes and I’m feeling good.

"I’ve looked into my diet with a bit more detail, getting the balance right and what works for me.

"I felt I had a really frustrating year, missed all of pre-season and came in round one thinking I’d be all right because I understand rugby whereas the training side of it is massive, being physically ready.

"This year’s been nice, I had 10 weeks off at the end of the season and had a full pre-season – I’m buzzing for it now.”