Castleford owner a ‘realist’ on Tyrell Sloan situation as new update on move given

Castleford Tigers owner Martin Jepson has told a fans forum that he still believes Tyrell Sloan will join the club in 2027 – though he is a ‘realist’ on how close the St George star was with former coach Ryan Carr.

Sloan’s future has become a huge talking point ever since the Dragons man spoke publicly about his uncertainty over making the move to Super League, despite agreeing a bumper deal to join Castleford.

He and his Dragons team-mates, Damien Cook and Mat Feagai, have all agreed to sign for the Tigers next season but the departure of Carr, who Sloan in particular was close to, appears to have complicated the situation.

Castleford owner addresses Tyrell Sloan future

And speaking at a forum on Thursday evening – with an update provided through the club’s website – Jepson admitted he is aware that Sloan and Carr have a strong personal bond, which could complicate any move.

But crucially, Jepson insists he and Chris Chester have spoken at length about the prospect of him still coming, and insist there is nothing from their end to suggest he will back up.

Jepson also stressed that any club wanting to sign Sloan for 2027 would also now have to speak to Castleford and pay a transfer fee, as his registration has already been lodged with the Rugby Football League.

The Tigers wrote: “MJ confirmed he spoke to him last week alongside Chris Chester, and that he spent most of the conversation making sure Sloan can bring his dogs over here so shows his willingness and that he is planning to come.

“Although, he is a realist. Tyrell Sloan is close to Ryan Carr, he mentored him in Australia so obviously there are going to be some strong feelings there with Ryan no longer being involved at the club.

“(Jepson) Confirmed that if he wants to go and get another contract, he will have to speak to us first. MJ confirmed he has seen nothing to suggest that Sloan won’t come over this off season.”

Castleford launch head coach search

The Tigers will formally put a job description for their next head coach live in the coming days.

However, Jepson insisted the club have already been inundated with applications – and while Chester would prefer to appoint a British coach, Jepson is more ‘open minded’.

The Tigers wrote: “CC (Chester) confirmed he prefers to have a British head coach, however MJ (Jepson) thinks we should be more open minded and see who’s available. There are more challenges with an Australian based coach in terms of logistics. We’ve already received applications despite not yet advertising the role so MJ will speak with CC regarding the candidates and our next steps.

“However, despite Ryan’s departure he confirmed that the plan stays the same. It was disruptive losing the head coach but the players that we have signed up already have been spoken to so shouldn’t affect things on the field too much, there will just be different coaching methods when we get a new head coach.

“The squad has had significant investment for 2027, and MJ doesn’t rule out further recruits.”