Daryl Clark commits to Castleford

Correspondent

Castleford Tigers are delighted that teenage hooker Daryl Clark has signed a new five year contract which will commit him to his hometown club until the 2017 season.

A former Fryston Warriors junior and Airedale High School pupil, Daryl exploded onto the first team scene as a seventeen year-old at the beginning of the recent 2011 season. Playing in 9 of the opening 10 games, he scored 9 tries in 21 appearances in the season overall.

Called up to the England Academy squad to play France in March, he missed out due to first team commitments. His contrast in styles with fellow teenage hooker Adam Milner has proven a potent partnership in Super League just as it had in the academy ranks previously.

On signing his new deal, Daryl, 18, said:

“I didn’t want to play anywhere else other than with Cas. I’ve grown up a Cas fan, living not far from the ground and it meant everything to me just to play in the under 18s.

“Cas is also the best place as a young player to get opportunities to play Super League and I’m very pleased to sign for five years. I want to become the best I can be in a Cas shirt, I think there are special times ahead for the club and I want to be a part of it all.”

On committing Daryl to the new contract, which replaces the three-year deal he signed only last year, chief executive Richard Wright believes the club have further underlined their ambitions for the future having also given long term extensions in the past month to Man of Steel Rangi Chase plus fellow home-grown talents Richard Owen and Adam Milner.

 

“Daryl is a special talent, but he is also an outstanding young man. There has been huge demand for his services from a number of Super League clubs and it was a big priority that we kept him here ,” said Wright.

“For him to see his long term future here with Castleford Tigers shows that he believes he can realise his full potential here.

“We are proving that we are prepared to reward our home grown talents with long term and improved deals when they have proven themselves on the Super League stage. Daryl is the latest example of this.

“He has already shown that he has what it takes to become a leading star in Super League and has proven that his unique style at hooker is applicable at this level. I fully believe that it won’t be long before we see him and Adam Milner both on the International stage together.

“Following Joe Arundel’s appearance for the England Knights at the weekend, and one of our nine home grown Super League players in the season just gone, Daryl is another success story for our youth development department and the Board’s long term strategy of investing heavily in bringing our own players through to first team.

“It has taken a number of years for us to get to this stage but we are now seeing plenty of rewards and I’m confident there are more exceptional talents like Daryl to come through at Castleford in the near future.”