00:00Chris, just give us your assessment of that first, please.
00:05I've got to be careful.
00:10Well played. Fair play to the players.
00:14You know, the half-mustled out of thought and everything.
00:18I just seem to be...
00:21It's like a stuck record.
00:24You know, we're beating ourselves up, we're getting beat on effort.
00:29It's totally unacceptable for a game like today that we don't turn up.
00:36We needed some guys to really fumble up today.
00:41But I can tell after three minutes.
00:43We were waiting for a long afternoon.
00:46Contact-wise, we were really, really poor.
00:49Urgency when the ball went down, we were poor.
00:52That's just this group.
00:54You feel like you're taking two steps forward with him
00:57and then three steps back.
01:00A lot of this to do with mentality, I think, between the ears.
01:05Things aren't going well.
01:07We've got too many guys here that just wear the white flag and that hurts.
01:12And that's what's really disappointing more than anything.
01:16We got beat on everything tonight.
01:19And the one thing that can miff me off more than anything is a distinct lack of effort.
01:25And that was throughout.
01:26And that's every single one of them.
01:28I think there's some players in there that gave a good account of themselves.
01:35I think you can count on two fingers how many of those there were.
01:43So, yeah, just really frustrated.
01:45Really frustrated.
01:46Really miffed off.
01:47And there's a lot of hard work to do between now and the end of the year.
01:54Did it shock you just how poor it was and how easily it seemed to come down at times?
01:58Yeah.
01:59Yeah, it did.
02:00You know, just simple drop balls.
02:03We got split at market from hackers.
02:06Spoke all week about kick D and what we needed to do.
02:11We just gave Lockie Miller a free catch under the post.
02:14And just no urgency.
02:16No, just a lack of urgency throughout.
02:20And, you know, that's my responsibility.
02:23And, you know, I've just got to make sure now, moving forward,
02:26I make the right decisions.
02:32With the team selection and the players that are going to be here next year.
02:35And that's, you know, that's simple.
02:37I think there'll be some tough conversations as well with, obviously,
02:40players that are contracted for next year.
02:43But, you know, won't be here next year.
02:45So, it's just really frustrating.
02:47We've had too much of this.
02:49We've had five years of mediocrity or whatever it's been.
02:53And, you know, I've been used to winning and leading the frustrating part.
02:58You know, I just get really, really frustrated.
03:01And, you know, I hope it hurts them as much as it hurts me and the rest of my staff.
03:07You know, I know how much it means to the town.
03:09And maybe some of these don't quite feel that the same way.
03:16I know you said that there's certain players who possibly aren't in the picture for next year
03:21that can still earn contracts.
03:23Does a performance like that make the call possibly easier on some of the other contracts
03:29that might not be here next year?
03:31Yeah.
03:32Yeah.
03:33Yeah.
03:34I think if you ask Brad Arthur how many players in Tec from our current team at this morning,
03:38I don't think it'd be managed.
03:40So, you know, we've just got to clear the decks, mate, and get the right people in,
03:47get the right coaching.
03:49And get mentally tough rugby league players.
03:54You know, we're not a tough group, a mentally tough group.
03:58That's shown in the last couple of weeks.
04:01Five games to go, what do you say to the fans?
04:04They were pretty vocal today, mate.
04:06Yeah, listen, I understand they're really miffed off.
04:11It's just, you know, I don't like using this.
04:16I said to him, I thought it was pathetic the way that we played that first 40 minutes.
04:21That's probably the worst individual and collective performance I've ever been involved in.
04:27I don't like using that word because that's just not kind of the words that I use.
04:33But I think he made it quite clear at half-time what I thought about that first 40 minutes.
04:43That just continued that second half.
04:45You know, I can all sit here and apologise for the lack of effort.
04:51The performance was nowhere near where he should have been.
04:56We knew it was going to be a tough game.
04:58You know, I think Leeds are the top two sides.
05:01I think they can really have a crack at this competition.
05:06Brad's got them playing a really good round of rugby,
05:09but we let them play that round of rugby tonight.
05:12You know, they were offloads.
05:13I think there were 36 mistackles at half-time.
05:17That's rubbish here, let's be honest.
05:22So, yep, it's up to me to make those tough calls.
05:29I think sooner we get the head coach in.
05:34I think more of a relief and less weight on my shoulders.
05:37Based on that subject, I know you said you were in the process of negotiating a deal with that new head coach.
05:44Has that advanced any further since you spoke to us?
05:46Well, I'm hopeful there's going to be an announcement on Monday.
05:51I'll try and get in contact with him.
05:55That performance might put him off.
05:58But, yeah, I'll speak over the next 24, 48 hours with a view to getting an announcement from 2026.
06:09Chris, I wouldn't ask you to give me a definitive number because it's so fresh.
06:14But, ballpark-wise, how many of the players that played today would you expect to be prominent players in your squad?
06:22Yes, you're either involved in your squad at all.
06:32Trying to go through your squad.
06:34Probably about eight to ten, you know, if I got my own way.
06:43Obviously, the players that are contracted.
06:47But, yeah, I just want people here that are just going to fight for everything.
06:52They're going to work hard.
06:55You know, Castleford's a working-class town.
06:57And I need, I need workers here.
07:01I need people that are going to work hard every single day when they come to training and win the play.
07:06And, yeah, we didn't get any of that today.
07:10Does it surprise you that you get performances in that manner?
07:14You've been quite open about the changes you want you to make and that you're not scared to wheel the act.
07:19So, players then, to produce that, does it surprise you when they probably should, you know, be aware of the situation?
07:27Yeah, every time you put a jersey on you want to win, you know, I wanted to go out on the field and I wanted to hurt people and I wanted to win.
07:40Yeah, I thought we were the white flag and that's the disappointing thing about this, you know, this group.
07:46And it is disappointing.
07:49It is really, really disappointing because the badge should mean a hell of a lot.
07:54And it's a great honour and privilege to wearing it at Castleford Tigershirt.
08:00You know, it's steeped in history.
08:02It's a good club, but at the moment, you know, we've got individuals and, you know, collectively we've not, you know, we've not been good at them.
08:13So, yeah, I, you know, I just get frustrated.
08:19You know, I get that we haven't got the best squad in the competition, but we should be going out there and putting everything,
08:28everything we've possibly got to, to put in a performance.
08:32And we didn't, we didn't get any of that tonight.
08:34And you've got your own personal pride, haven't you?
08:37And that's what blows my mind sometimes.
08:40But like I said, just there, it's, it's got to mean something.
08:43I don't think it means a great deal to some, some players.
08:46Now, Chris, you're speaking to pretty much press companies about being excited about the future.
08:52Is it difficult to be that positive mindset when you, when you watch that surf?
08:57No, not really.
08:58Not really, because I know the players are excited for next year.
09:01So, you know, that's, that's the excitement for me.
09:04And I know the coach we've identified and the brand of rugby he wants to play.
09:08So, yeah, it's, the project excites me.
09:13You know, you know, I wouldn't have walked away from, you know, Lee, we were sitting second in the comp
09:18and we were in the semi-final of the Challenge Cup and everyone thought I was crazy.
09:21Maybe I might be crazy, but I just like the idea of the challenge and what difference I can make to this,
09:29you know, this group, you know, for the next three, four, five years.
09:33And that's what excites me.
09:35That's what excites me.
09:36Listen, I don't want to coach.
09:38I've had my time coaching and it's too stressful coaching.
09:42But, you know, I'm excited.
09:45We're working with the, with the new head coach.
09:47I'm excited about working with these new proper players.
09:50You know, we're going to have some big bodies.
09:52We're going to have some speed.
09:53And we're going to have some players here that care.
09:58I know that the new coach will instil that into them.
10:02It's a similar situation as well last year.
10:04They seem to be going through emotions.
10:06Late in the season they had a coach watching on from Australia.
10:09It can turn quite quickly, can't it?
10:12Yeah, it can.
10:13It's just, it's just people, isn't it?
10:15It's just getting the, it's just getting the right, the right people.
10:19You know, we're no longer shopping at Neto.
10:23We're now shopping at Sainsbury's and Asda with some of us,
10:27with some of the signings, which, again, is, you know, is good.
10:32I don't mean that disrespectfully, but, you know,
10:36we've had to do what we've had to do.
10:38Because we know we're near, you know, the, we know we're near the cap.
10:45So it's, it's just, yeah.
10:48I think for me, I've just, we've just got to manage, manage this,
10:51these last five, six games, whatever it is, the best we possibly can.
10:55And look forward to working hard and, and I did for 2026.
11:01Josh Sim, injured.
11:06Yeah, yeah, Josh, Josh Simson as well.
11:08He failed his HIA and Josh Sim came off, off the field injured.
11:13I don't know what I'm going to do there.
11:17You know, I lost Tex Hoy again yesterday.
11:20It blows my mind.
11:22They were losing players to, two injuries.
11:27You know, Tex Hoy and other calf, a bit of a different calf.
11:30I don't know what's going on, to be honest.
11:34But, yeah, we'll find a solution.
11:37We'll find a solution.
11:38We'll have a look what's available.
11:40You know, I thought young Alfred Lindsay,
11:43I'm looking forward to watching him.
11:45I think he's out there playing.
11:46So we'll see how Alfred goes in the reserves.
11:49And they're the future.
11:52You know, from here on, you know,
11:53just, you know, play with some of the close kids
11:55and club them like OFC did last year.
11:58You know, hopefully they'll come back mentally, mentally strong.
12:03And, you know, I thought Jenson shot some good touches.
12:06I know he slipped a couple of times and, you know,
12:08a difficult night for Jenson.
12:10But, you know, he'll make sure that he's better next week.
12:13And I'll personally buy him a pair of studded boots
12:17and move so you don't slip in.
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