Castleford Tigers v Leigh Leopards: Craig Lingard out to repay fans for going above and beyond

The fans have got behind an effort to sell out the Jungle and boost their IMG score, with the Tigers stressing that a capacity crowd could leave them among the highest-ranked clubs when the grading system goes live next month.

Should Castleford secure grade A status, they would be immune from relegation.

Some fans have bought and donated tickets to fellow supporters to give the club the extra push they need.

"It's unbelievable," said Lingard, who has only 21 fit players for the date with the in-form Leigh Leopards.

"I've been following it myself on social media where people are buying tickets from their membership for people who haven't got a membership.

"Complimentary tickets don't go on the attendance total for the IMG grading so people are putting their hands in their own pockets to buy tickets and donate them to the club for other people.

"It just shows how much the club means to the people and how important the fans are for us.

"We've spoken about what the fans have done and that it's going to be a packed house and a massive occasion for 17 people to play in.

"With the work the fans have done off the field to make sure it's going to be a packed house, it's down to us to go out and do what we can to give them a performance that mirrors what they've done."

Castleford have improved on a wretched 2023 season in their first year under Lingard.

A seventh win of the campaign against Hull last week kept alive the Tigers' hopes of finishing top of the bottom four, which was the club's target at the start of the year.

Lingard appreciates that the supporters will be expecting Castleford to kick on in 2025 after pledging to add experience to a green squad.

"Hopefully we've given the fans some good evenings down here but we're also aware we've had some difficult days," he said.

"Since the midpoint of the season, we've not really had many games where the game has got away from us.

"We're coming up to the end of the first 12 months of our plan and I think the fans can see some development and progression from last year with a lesser spend and a more experienced squad.

"We can't get 12 months into a three-year plan and put the handbrake on; we've got to make sure we follow through on the promises we made at the start of the 2024 season and do what we said we were going to do."