Castleford Tigers loose forward Joe Westerman is hoping his side can have a more fruitful 2023 campaign in the Betfred Super League after narrowingly missing out on the play-offs in 2022.
Westerman is entering the second year of his second spell with Castleford Tigers, with his first coming right at the beginning of his professional career. He came through the club’s academy and broke into the senior side in 2007, where he helped them to the Championship (then National League One) title. This aided the club in their route back to the Super League and after having a taste of success in the past, the 33-year-old wants to go even further with his boyhood club in 2023.
The Tigers were two points short of the top six last year and boyhood fan Westerman feels that their play-off hopes were dashed by injuries late in the campaign, but he believes that the squad is shaping up nicely for a promising year.
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He told The Sportsman: “We had a lot of injuries towards the back end [of the season]. We’ve got a brand new halfback partnership, and I think the squad’s looking good. The young kids have really had a dig and they’re looking good as well.”
Westerman also feels that the younger players in the squad will be better prepared for the new season after another year of intense training and experience under their belts, which can help them go one step further and finish the year inside the top six.
“They’re [the younger players] better off for another year of training, the hunger is there,” he added.
“I think we definitely want to go one better this year in the play-offs. I think once you’re in there, anything can happen.”
Castleford Tigers get their Betfred Super League campaign underway with a trip to Hull at the MKM Stadium on Sunday 19 February with a kick-off time of 3pm.
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