Castleford Tigers Daniel Smith agrees new deal

The prop, 28, will now be with the West Yorkshire club until the end of the 2023 season.

Smith joined hometown Castleford after a mid-season switch from Huddersfield Giants in June 2019.

He has missed just two games in this campaign and scored in last weekend’s Challenge Cup quarter-final win over Salford Red Devils.

The former Wakefield Trinity forward, who started out at Leeds Rhinos, is set to feature in tomorrow’s game against Hull KR as Castleford seek to continue their excellent start to the season.

“I’m over the moon,” said Smith.

“It’s a bit of a weight lifted off my shoulders. I always wanted to stay here.

“I’m just from down the road - I played all my amateur rugby at Lock Lane and finally found my way here - and I love it.

“It means a lot for me to play for this club and hopefully this year we can try get some silverware. That would just top it all off.

“I’m glad we’ve got it (contract) done now; I can concentrate on winning something and hopefully keep playing consistently.”

Smith feels his best years are still ahead of him.

He said: “I had a big pre-season; I knew I was out of contract, so I wanted to start the season well and put my best foot forward.

“I missed a couple of games with a little niggle injury, but I feel like I’m finding my form and I feel like I’m only going to get better here.”

Lee Radford takes over from Daryl Powell as head coach at Castleford next season.

Radford said: “Dan is a great ball-handling forward and fits into the mould that Castleford have within the middles.

“For a big fella he’s got really tidy skill and he has that balance in his game of when to play and when to go forward.

“I’m looking forward to working with him in 2022.”