Tigers keen for Matterson to stay

Castleford are hoping to persuade Terry Matterson to remain as coach despite their relegation from Super League.

The former London Broncos skipper hinted in the immediate aftermath of Saturday's 29-17 loss to Wakefield that he is likely to return to Australia.

But Tigers chief executive Richard Wright says he wants him to stay.

"We will sit down with him and see what he wants to do," said Wright. "He has a two-year contract which applies to whichever league we were in."

Wright added: "I do think he has done a very good job in the circumstances. It's been very difficult, starting so late, and we've been trying to recruit players all year."

Castleford could still avoid demotion if Whitehaven were to win the National League Division One Grand Final.

The Cumbrian side's ground is not up to Super League standards, which means they would not be allowed to go up if they were crowned champions.

Haven stayed on course for a third successive appearance in the Grand Final with a 38-10 win over Rochdale at the weekend.

Meanwhile, Matterson has slammed the system of promotion and relegation from Super League as "crazy".

He said relegation was stopping British talent flourishing because clubs would not risk their youngsters when they were fighting for survival.

"We just can't promote these kids because the stakes are so high," said the 38-year-old Australian.

"I would have loved to have had Craig Huby out there playing and I would have gone with Andy Kain a lot more this year, but there's just so much riding on it.

"I was going to play a kid called Joe Westerman this week if we were safe but you just can't do it."

Castleford's relegation also means Test players Awen Guttenbeil and Shaun Timmins will not be moving over from the NRL because their deals were dependent on the club being in Super League.

Source: bbc.co.uk