Paul McShane will captain Castleford in the 2022 Super League season
It is often said that good things come to those who wait, and in the Betfred Super League there are few who have perhaps been forced to do so more patiently than Paul McShane.
The hooker has been playing in the competition since making his debut for home city club Leeds Rhinos as a 19-year-old on the opening day in 2009, along with featuring for Hull FC during a four-game loan spell and spending 18 months playing for Wakefield Trinity.
It is at Castleford Tigers, who he joined midway through the 2015 campaign, where McShane has been able to truly establish himself and become one of the stars of the competition, though, being named Man of Steel in 2020 and finally earning his first England cap last year at the age of 31.
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His importance to the team has been recognised by him being chosen as the man to succeed Michael Shenton as Tigers captain following the centre’s retirement at the end of last season too, and although these honours have come late in his career, McShane would not have it any other way.
“I wouldn’t change a thing which has gone on in the past and I think it’s all made me the player I am today,” McShane, who will lead Cas out for the first time in a Super League match since being named skipper when they host Salford Red Devils in their 2022 opener on Friday, said.
“This, for me, is probably the next step, being able to lead this great club out week in, week out and it probably gives me an even bigger drive to keep improving and making things better.
“From when I first came to Cas, there was a real emphasis on people wanting other players to be better and putting the team first, which really stood out for me.
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McShane put the seal on Castleford Tigers’ win in the derby clash at home to Wakefield Trinity in 2018 with this long-range score
“That’s probably the biggest thing I’m going to try to keep in amongst the group. We read a book the other year about leaving your shirt in a better place than when you got it and that’s what I want to do.”
McShane has been entrusted with the responsibility by new Castleford head coach Lee Radford, who played alongside him in the pack during the aforementioned four-match loan with Hull FC in 2010 and has come up against him as an opponent many times in both his playing and coaching careers.
Radford had an inkling McShane, who was already part of the Tigers’ leadership group, would be one of the potential candidates for the captaincy when he first walked through the door at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle as Daryl Powell’s replacement for the return to pre-season training.
Yet what really stood out for the 42-year-old was not so much what McShane said, but the example he sets and how well he is thought of by the rest of the squad.
We read a book the other year about leaving your shirt in a better place than when you got it and that’s what I want to do.
New Castleford captain Paul McShane
“I think there are numerous types of captains,” Radford said. “What he is, is by example. He does everything right around the environment, how he does with young blokes, in particular, and his leadership qualities are very much by what he does rather than what he says.
“When he speaks, people listen, but his leadership qualities are actions rather than words.
“He ticked a lot of the boxes. I’ve obviously played with Paul and coached against him for many years, so knowing what he brings to the table and the side, and how respected he is amongst the group as well.”
The clash with Salford is not just a big night for the new skipper, but also the returning Joe Westerman who will pull on a Tigers shirt for the first time in 12 years after re-joining from local rivals Wakefield during the off-season.
Castleford head coach Lee Radford has been impressed with the example McShane sets for his team-mates
He is one of seven new faces in Radford’s 21-man squad, along with Jake Mamo, Bureta Faraimo, Mahe Fonua, Alex Sutcliffe, George Lawler and Kenny Edwards. The Red Devils, also with a new head coach in Paul Rowley, have new recruits such as Ryan Brierley, Brodie Croft, Shane Wright, Sitaleki Akauola, Tim Lafai and King Vuniyayawa in contention too.
Friday’s season-opener marks the start of the long road to the Grand Final at Old Trafford at the end of September and McShane is determined the Tigers will be back among the play-off contenders this year after falling short in 2021 and missing out on the chance to send the likes of Powell and Shenton out on a high, having also finished as beaten Challenge Cup finalists.
“It was a massive disappointment because all we wanted to do was send people out with the highest possible thing we could do,” McShane said. “For us not to give them a chance in the play-offs or anything like that was disappointing.
“Playing at Cas, there is no better feeling than playing at this home ground and if we can nail our results here, that’s a massive focus for us.
“Our fans travel up and down the country in all weather and if we can get results here that will be massive.”
Named squads
Castleford Tigers: Niall Evalds, Derrell Olpherts, Jordan Turner, Jake Mamo, Bureta Faraimo, Jake Trueman, Danny Richardson, Liam Watts, Paul McShane, George Lawler, Kenny Edwards, Adam Milner, Joe Westerman, George Griffin, Mahe Fonua, Alex Sutcliffe, Daniel Smith, Greg Eden, Cheyse Blair, Suaia Matagi, Gareth O’Brien.
Salford Red Devils: Ryan Brierley, Ken Sio, Tim Lafai, Joe Burgess, Brodie Croft, Marc Sneyd, Sitaleki Akauola, Andy Ackers, Greg Burke, Shane Wright, James Greenwood, Elijah Taylor, Danny Addy, King Vuniyayawa, Ryan Lannon, Chris Atkin, Josh Johnson, Dan Sarginson, Matt Costello, Sam Luckley, Deon Cross.