Castleford Tigers import set to leave as boss denies interest in Leeds Rhinos pivot & reveals injury blow

Tigers are in the process of releasing pre-season signing Judah Rimbu, which will open a space on their overseas quota. Frawley has dropped down the pecking order at Leeds and will leave when his contract expires this autumn.

Rhinos are not looking to move the Australian number seven on before then, but wouldn’t stand in his way if he got an opportunity elsewhere over the second half of the season. The Yorkshire Evening Post understands there has been interest from Salford Red Devils, but - speaking at his weekly preview press conference today (Thursday) - boss Danny McGuire said Frawley “hasn’t been mentioned, as far as I am aware” in Tigers’ recruitment discussions.

“We are looking at half-backs and potential opportunities for next year, but he is not one who has been thrown at me at the minute,” McGuire said. “He is a player I like and have watched a fair bit, this year and previously when he was at Huddersfield, but he’s not somebody we have identified at the minute.”

Of Papua New Guinea international Rimbu, McGuire - whose side visit Hull FC tomorrow - confirmed: “It is not officially done, there’s some bits to sort out, but there is something going on. Judah came over and really wanted to make a difference for the club and really wanted to take his opportunity, but it just hasn’t quite played out.

“We have got players in front of him in that number nine position - Liam Horne, Chris Atkin, Cain Robb - so he has found it tough for minutes. Sometimes in sport things just don’t work out - it’s not through lack of effort, he’s probably just not the right fit for us at the moment. There will definitely be an opportunity for Judah somewhere down the line. He is a great kid and a good player.”

Former Hull full-back Tex Hoy will miss Friday’s visit to his former club after suffering a calf muscle injury in training last week. “Best-case, it’ll probably be three or four weeks,” McGuire said of Hoy’s layoff. “It’s not a really serious one, but it’s disappointing because he has been really consistent and he’s building in confidence and maturity. But as always when you get injuries, you have to adapt and somebody else will get an opportunity this week.”

Of who will replace Hoy, McGuire insisted: “We’ve got a few players who can slide in there and we’ve worked on some different combinations this week. Chris Atkin can play there, so can Zac Cini and Innes Senior.

“It’s not their preferred position, but they are adaptable and able to do it pretty comfortably. Probably Zac is the front-runner at the minute, he has been training there for the majority of the week, but we’ll see how it plays out. Missing Tex is not ideal, but good teams are able to adapt and that’s the challenge for us this week.”

Nineteen-year-old full-back Fletcher Rooney has been on the casualty list since March with a thigh injury, but could come into contention during Hoy’s absence. McGuire said: “He’s flying and doing some good things - I feel like he’ll be available in the next couple of weeks. We play a reserve game in two or three weeks’ time and I think he has been pencilled in for that.”

Hull FC: from Rapana, Barron, Hardaker, Briscoe, Sezer, Ese’ese, Bourouh, Cust, Aydin, Ashworth, Fash, Litten, Gardiner, Martin, Charles, Balmforth, Laidlaw, Hutchinson, Eseh,

Knight.

Castleford Tigers: from Cini, Wood, I Senior, Asi, Milnes, Horne, Lawler, Mellor, Westerman, Griffin, Robb, Hall, Mustapha, L Senior, Simm, Tate, Hill, Okoro, Singleton, Amone, Atkin.

Referee: Liam Rush (Batley/Dewsbury). Kick-off: Friday, 8pm.