Castleford Tigers were one of the founding members of the new Super League competition - which enjoyed its inaugural season in 1996 - and have spent over two decades in the top flight. Throughout the years, the Tigers have had some brilliant - and not so brilliant - players fill their ranks. This article is a tribute to five of the very best to have donned the Castleford shirt in the summer game.
Adrian Vowles
After two seasons with the North Queensland Cowboys, Vowles moved to Castleford ahead of the 1997 season. Though taking a few months to settle, the ball-handling loose-forward soon became one of the Tigers' most important and most formidable players.
In his five seasons at the club, Vowles made a reputation for himself as a physical and skilful forward, so much so that he was named Man of Steel in 1999 - the first Castleford player to win the award since its creation in 1977.
He was loved by fans on the Wheldon Road terraces and feared by his Super League opposition. Vowles himself found a home at Castleford and returned at the end of 2003 from local rivals Wakefield Trinity and then again when the Tigers found themselves relegated to the second tier in 2004. The Queensland-born Aussie came back to the club almost like the prodigal son, playing three games towards the end of Castleford's promotion-winning season in 2005, including the Grand Final.
Over the course of his time spent at Wheldon Road, Vowles registered 148 appearances, 33 tries, one goal and one drop-goal to give him a points haul of 135 - a remarkable statistic for a loose-forward. Vowles could, with all honesty, be described as one of the Tigers' greatest ever Australian signing.
Rangi Chase
Before moving to Castleford on a two-year contract ahead of the 2009 Super League season, Rangi Chase had only been something of a bit-part player for both of his NRL clubs - Wests Tigers and St George Illawarra Dragons - and so was rather an unknown quantity when he relocated to West Yorkshire.
Chase, however, took to Castleford like a duck to water, and, in doing so, became something of a hero around the town, winning the Player of the Year award in his maiden season. Whilst off-the-field issues plagued his time at the club, his on-the-field form continued to blossom. And, at the end of 2011, Chase was awarded the Albert Goldthorpe Medal and became only the second Castleford player to win the Man of Steel, following in Vowles' footsteps.
Chase was a maverick at the Tigers, a special talent that Super League had not seen before. After taking British citizenship, the half-back was even called up to the England squad in 2011, playing in the 2011 Four Nations and the 2013 World Cup.
When Chase left Castleford at the end of the 2013 season, he had built a reputation for himself as one of the most naturally-gifted half-backs in the game. In his five seasons with the Tigers, the diminutive stand-off notched 129 appearances, 47 tries and three drop-goals, amounting to 191 points.
Then, in a bizarre turn of events, Chase - once vilified by Castleford fans for his high-profile, controversial move to Salford in 2013 - rejoined the Tigers towards the back end of the 2016 season, playing seven games and scoring a try.
Chase went on to play another eight times for Castleford in 2017 before yet another off-the-field incident saw him leave for the Widnes Vikings first on loan and then permanently. Though an enviable and classy talent, Chase, seemingly, only ever felt and looked at home at Castleford. As such, the Tigers' fans honoured him as one of their own.
Danny Orr
Danny Orr came through the ranks at Castleford as a teenager, bursting onto the scene in 1997, and, over a period of seven seasons, Orr played 191 times for the club. The half-back's statistics were astounding; in his first spell at Castleford, he racked up 71 tries, 296 goals and four drop-goals, totalling 880 points. Whilst at the Tigers, Orr quickly became one of the most influential halves in the top flight.
With a superb kicking game, an intelligent rugby brain and the ability to create something out of nothing, Orr earned representative caps for both Great Britain and England whilst at his hometown club.
Though Orr left the Tigers at the end of 2003, he - like Vowles and Chase - returned for a second stint. Whilst in his first spell the Tigers were a side hunting the play-offs, this could not have been further from the truth in his second spell, which started in 2011. Struggling under then coach Ian Millward, Orr was the backbone of the Tigers' team, doing his very best to try to find some kind of inspiration from somewhere as Castleford languished near the bottom of the table. For two years Orr ran his blood to water, registering over 50 appearances in which he scored 12 tries and kicked 31 goals.
"Mr Castleford" himself, Orr retired at the end of the 2012 season to take up a backroom coaching job with the Tigers. Clearly, Orr is also talented in a coaching respect too as he still forms part of the current exceptional Tigers' managerial setup.
Michael Shenton
Shenton debuted as an 18-year-old in Castleford's fateful relegation season in 2004, but also played a key role in bringing the Tigers back up in 2005 and again in 2007. From then on, the wiry centre cemented his place on the Tigers' teamsheet. Known for his outstanding defensive capabilities, Shenton went from strength to strength, making his England debut in 2008 and becoming increasingly integral to the Castleford team. His quality was such that St Helens signed him ahead of the 2011 season where he impressed, but failed to make as big an impact as he had done at his boyhood club.
Again, like the three players mentioned above, Shenton returned to Wheldon Road for the 2013 season. From that moment onwards, the former Upton amateur has led a revival of the club - after being appointed captain by then head coach Ian Millward - playing a crucial part in Daryl Powell's rebuilding of the club since 2013. Having captained the side for five years, Shenton has established himself as one of the best centres in the British game and was instrumental in the Tigers' historic 2017 season.
In his first seven years at Castleford, Shenton played 153 games, scoring 93 tries in that time. Since his return, the 31-year-old has registered 118 appearances and 44 tries. With a few years still left in the tank, Shenton has the ability, the attitude and the determination to become one of the Tigers' greatest ever youth products, not just in the summer era, but in Castleford's 91-year history.
Grant Millington
Having been brought to the club by then head coach Ian Millward from Canterbury Bulldogs ahead of the 2012 season, powerful forward Grant Millington took some time to settle in West Yorkshire. But, with Daryl Powell's arrival in 2013, "Millo" became a different player almost overnight. At 6 ft 4 and nearly 18 stone, one would be forgiven in thinking that Millington is all brawn and no brain; this could not be further from the truth. A ball-handling, skilful and intelligent forward, Millington has been a central figure in the Tigers' revival under Powell, even dipping his toe into the unfamiliar position of half-back when injuries forced him into that role in 2016.
Since his arrival in 2012, Millington has gone under the radar, and, it was only in 2017 when he attracted the recognition he deserves when he was included in the 2017 Super League Dream Team for the first time.
The eloquently-spoken Australian is a big hit in the town of Castleford and, aged just 31, he will be for some years to come. Arguably, Millington is up there with Adrian Vowles as one of Castleford's greatest ever imports and could even surpass Vowles in this respect in the near future if he keeps performing to his ever-increasing high standards.
Over the course of six seasons so far, Millington has appeared 159 times for the Tigers, scoring 24 tries.
