Castleford Tigers are “very close” to agreeing a new contract with prized asset Krystian Mapapalangi.

The 23-year-old Australian centre has been outstanding for Castleford since joining them late in pre-season from NRL outfit Wests Tigers. Despite him signing a two-year deal, Mapapalangi’s form has caught the eye of rival clubs and Tigers have been in talks with him about a longer arrangement.

Speaking at his preview press conference today (Wednesday) ahead of tomorrow’s game at Hull KR, Castleford coach Ryan Carr confirmed: “We are very close and we’ll hopefully have some news on that in the coming days.”

Krystian Mapapalangi on the ball for Castleford Tigers in their win at Wigan Warriors two weeks ago. Picture by Olly Hassell/SWpix.com.

Carr said: “He has been unreal for us, he is a shining light in the competition, let alone for us. I’ve got a great relationship with Krystian and I love working with him.

“It’s hard to talk about it because we need to focus on the here and now - there’s a game tomorrow night and that’s the most important thing to me right now, but hopefully we can secure his services moving forward. He is someone we can really build a squad around.”