Castleford Tigers boss addresses overseas player future amid heavy exit rumours

Castleford Tigers head coach Danny McGuire has all but confirmed Judah Rimbu will depart the club in the near future, citing the move hasn’t worked out as planned.

Reports emerged earlier this week that the Papua New Guinea hooker was set to leave the Fords after less than a year in West Yorkshire.

Rimbu has struggled to break into the Castleford regular match-day squad, but has made 10 first-grade appearances alongside some further outings in the reserves.

Speaking to the media ahead of his side’s clash with Hull FC, boss McGuire revealed there were things going on behind the scenes regarding a possible exit.

“There’s a bit going on behind the scenes,” he said. “It’s not officially done, but there are some bits to sort out. Everyone is aware there’s something going on, and I’m not going to sit here and say it isn’t." McGuire said.

Rimbu began the 2025 season brightly, featuring in nine of Castleford’s opening 10 Super League matches alongside one appearance in the Challenge Cup, notably winning Man of the Match in their 22-14 win over Salford Red Devils in round four, but the signing of Chris Atkin plus the return to form of fellow PNG hooker Liam Horne have forced him out of the team.

The Southern Highlands-native has not featured in any capacity since the Fords’ 32-8 defeat to Wakefield Trinity at Magic Weekend, and has also failed to make the wider 21-man match-day squad on a couple of occasions.

“This year’s been tough for Judah,” McGuire said. “He came over and wanted to make a difference for the club and take his opportunity, but we’ve got players in front of him in that nine position with Liam Horne, Chris Atkin and Cain Robb, so he’s found it tough for minutes.

“As a club, and for himself, we’re trying to work out things for next year and beyond that as well. There’s a bit going on behind the scenes, but nothing’s 100% confirmed as yet.”

“I don’t think we can look too deep [as to why the move didn’t work], sometimes in sport or business things just don’t work out. It’s not through lack of want or effort, he’s just probably not the right fit for us at the moment, and he’s got players ahead of him.

While there might not be a future for him at the Jungle anymore, McGuire insists Rimbu could be a good pick-up for another side in the near future.

“There will definitely be another opportunity for Judah further down the line. He’s a great kid and a good player, so there will be some opportunities knocking about for him if it plays out the way we think it’s going to.”

Rimbu is the second quota player to leave the Jungle this season, following fellow PNG international Sylvester Namo out the exit door, but this again frees up a quota spot on their books, and McGuire revealed new director of rugby Chris Chester is already looking to fill it.

“Chez [Chris Chester] is really busy, so we’ll look to strengthen or bring someone over that we had in line for next year, that could happen.

He added: “There are lots of moving parts, it’s like moving house where if the chain breaks somewhere, it knocks a few of the deals out, but we’re seeing how it plays out and we’ll give an update at the back end of the week or early next week.

As McGuire alluded to earlier, the Fords are already pretty set at hooker, however he detailed they could use this freed-up spot to draft to bolster their pack.

“Potentially someone who could play back-row or in the middle, just to give us some cover there. Jeremiah [Simbiken] is still a month away from playing and we had two middles playing in the back-row against Warrington, so it’s an area where we need a bit of cover.

“Chez is working tirelessly to try and help us for this year and next year, and while there’s nothing 100% confirmed, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes.”