Castleford Tigers coach delighted to sign ex-Leeds Rhinos teammate, reveals key man's hospital scare

Singleton became available because of Salford Red Devils’ on-going financial crisis and will make his Tigers debut at home to Catalans Dragons tomorrow (Saturday), three days after making the move. McGuire, who played alongside Singleton at Rhinos from 2011-2017, admitted he sympathises with Salford, but stressed he has to do what’s best for his own team.

“I feel bad for their situation, nobody wants to see it,” he said of the Red Devils, who have also recently lost Marc Sneyd and Tim Lafai. “But Singo became available and obviously I played with him and know him really well. He’s a good friend and wanted to come and be part of what we are trying to do. It happened pretty quickly and we’ve got him in for this week.”

Salford, 32, are restricted to a salary cap of just £1.2 million, which meant Singleton wasn’t able to play for them. McGuire added: “He is no spring chicken now, he is getting to the back end and he wants to play - he needs to play and I think he is going to be good value to us with his leadership and experience and everything he brings.

“He knows his job and his role, he doesn’t complicate things and I feel like we’ve needed somebody like that - really steady and professional. He is going to be a good addition to the team.”

McGuire hasn’t ruled out moves for other Salford players if their situation doesn’t improve. He said: “They’ve created a good team and culture and it seems like everyone’s just trying to pick at it, but ultimately that’s the way it is; that’s the game and we have to be in a position to strike if there’s someone who catches our attention - and we are.

“If something happens we are in a position to make a move on some of their players. I’m not going to mention individuals, but we are ready if it becomes available.”

Singleton has replaced Fletcher Rooney in Tigers’ initial squad for Saturday after the full-back suffered a thigh injury in training which will keep him out of action until July. Jeremiah Simbiken is available following suspension and Joe Westerman, Jenson Windley and Rowan Milnes - who were unused squad members for the win against Salford two weeks ago - are vying for a place in the 17.

Westerman missed that game through illness and McGuire revealed: “He was in hospital for a few days. He was in a bad way, they had to get him on a drip. He has lost a fair bit of weight and he has only just been back in training this week, but he looks like he has slotted in okay and is finding his feet again. He is fine now, but I think this week might come a bit too soon for him.”

Castleford Tigers: from Hoy, Cini, Wood, I Senior, Asi, Milnes, Horne, Lawler, Simbiken, Mellor, Westerman, Rimbu, Griffin, Robb, Mustapha, Namo, Simm, Hill, Windley, Okoro, Singleton.

Catalans Dragons: from Tomkins, Romano, Smith, Cotric, Keary, Pangai, Garcia, Bousquet, Whitehead, Partington, Da Costa, Satae, Navarrete, Rouge, Seguier, Dezaria, Yaha, Laguerre, Maria, Aispuro-Bichet, Martin.

Referee: Liam Rush (Dewsbury/Batley). Kick-off: Saturday, 3pm.