Castleford Tigers sign Australian forward Jack Todd from NRL

Castleford Tigers have signed Australian forward Jack Todd on a two-year deal, bringing a 24-year-old from the NRL, the top rugby league competition in Australia, to West Yorkshire.

Todd can play as a prop or as a loose forward. A prop is one of the big front-row men who push against the opposing pack in the scrum and carry the ball into contact. A loose forward is a mobile back-row player who works around the ball, making tackles and getting to the breakdown first.

He made his NRL debut in March 2025. The week after that first game, he scored as the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs beat the Newcastle Knights, a quick start for a player still new to the top level.

Todd will join Paul Rowley's Castleford side for the start of the 2027 season. That gives him time to settle in before he pulls on the black and amber shirt in competition.

In an interview with the club, Todd said Castleford seems like a really good place, and a club that is on the up. Castleford Tigers published the news under the headline "Todd the Tiger", a nod to the club's nickname.

Rugby league is the fast, 13-a-side version of the game that is most popular in Australia, Britain and parts of the Pacific. Its players move the ball by passing and running rather than kicking it into the air to win territory, and a team must give up possession after six tackles. Players from the NRL often make the move to England's Super League, where the Tigers compete, and clubs in both leagues regularly look to Australia for experienced forwards.

For Castleford, the signing adds a forward who can cover two roles in the pack. For Todd, it is a move to a new country, a new club and a new league. The first full test of that will come once he arrives for the 2027 campaign.