Liam Watts

Liam Watts
Personal information
Born (1990-07-08) 8 July 1990 (age 34)
Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight17 st 0 lb (108 kg)[1]
Playing information
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2007 Castleford Tigers 1 1 0 0 4
2008–12 Hull Kingston Rovers 63 7 0 0 28
2009(loan) → Gateshead Thunder 12 1 0 0 4
2012–18 Hull F.C. 152 11 0 0 44
2014(loan) → Doncaster 3 1 0 0 4
2018– Castleford Tigers 146 9 0 0 36
Total 377 30 0 0 120
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2011 England Knights 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [2][3]
As of 19 September 2024

Liam Watts (born 8 July 1990) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop forward for the Castleford Tigers in the Super League. He is an England Knights international.

He has previously played for Hull Kingston Rovers and Hull F.C. in the Super League. He has spent time on loan at Gateshead Thunder and Doncaster in the RFL Championship.

Background

Watts was born in Featherstone,[4] West Yorkshire, England, and he was a junior at Featherstone Lions.

Career

Castleford Tigers

Watts made his first team debut and scored a try for the Castleford Tigers in an 88-10 victory over Castleford Lock Lane in the Challenge Cup third round on 11 March 2007.[5]

Hull Kingston Rovers

He made his Hull Kingston Rovers debut in a Challenge Cup fourth round tie in April 2008,[6] and signed a two-year contract until the end of the 2010 season in June 2008.[7]

Watts playing for Hull KR in 2010

After a fine season in 2010 in which Watts played 26 of 27 Super League matches, he was called up to the England training squad for the Four Nations Championship in September 2010,[8] and awarded the 2010 Albert Goldthorpe Rookie of the Year Medal.[9]

Gateshead Thunder (loan)

In 2009 he spent time on loan from Hull KR at Gateshead Thunder in League 1.

Hull FC

Watts requested to be released from his contract with Hull Kingston Rovers in June 2012,[10] and joined Hull F.C. on a three-and-a-half-year contract.[11] Hull coach Peter Gentle said: "Liam is certainly a promising player for the future and we are looking forward to helping him realise his potential".[12] He signed a new three-year contract in July 2014,[13] and a further two-year contract in March 2017.[14]

He won the Challenge Cup with Hull in 2016[15][16] and 2017 at Wembley Stadium.[17][18]

Doncaster (loan)

He spent time on loan from Hull, playing for Doncaster in 2014.

Castleford Tigers

Watts signed for Castleford Tigers on a three-year deal in March 2018.[18] Hull had agreed a fee with Championship side Toronto Wolfpack, but Castleford's "last-minute significant offer" saw him return to Wheldon Road.[19] He made 23 appearances in his first year.

Watts had an outstanding personal season in 2019, playing in all but 2 of Castleford's games and earning a place in the Super League Dream Team.[20] At the club's end of season awards, he was named Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year, and won the inaugural Immortals Award voted for by Castleford legends.[21] He was also named as the Castleford Tigers Supporters Club player of the year.[22]

In July 2019, he signed a three-year extension until the end of the 2023 season.[23]

On 17 July 2021, he played for Castleford in their 2021 Challenge Cup final loss against St Helens.[24]

Watts played 20 games for Castleford in the 2023 season as the club finished 11th on the table and narrowly avoided relegation.[25]

In the opening match of the 2024 season, Watts was controversially sent off for a high tackle on Wigan's Tyler Dupree,[26][27] under new laws introduced to Super League.[28][29]

International career

England Knights

Watts played for the England Knights in 2011.[citation needed]

England

Good performances for Castleford saw Watts called up for the England Performance squad in March 2019.[30][4]

England 9s

He was selected in England 9s squad for the 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s.[31]

Club statistics

Appearances and points in all competitions by year
Club Season Tier App T G DG Pts
Castleford Tigers 2007 Super League 1 1 0 0 4
2018 Super League 23 0 0 0 0
2019 Super League 30 4 0 0 16
2020 Super League 13 1 0 0 4
2021 Super League 18 2 0 0 8
2022 Super League 20 2 0 0 8
2023 Super League 20 0 0 0 0
2024 Super League 22 0 0 0 0
Total 147 10 0 0 40
Hull Kingston Rovers 2008 Super League 5 1 0 0 4
2009 Super League 1 0 0 0 0
2010 Super League 27 3 0 0 12
2011 Super League 20 2 0 0 8
2012 Super League 10 1 0 0 4
Total 63 7 0 0 28
→ Gateshead Thunder (loan) 2009 Championship 12 1 0 0 4
Hull F.C. 2012 Super League 12 1 0 0 4
2013 Super League 28 0 0 0 0
2014 Super League 20 2 0 0 8
2015 Super League 30 1 0 0 4
2016 Super League 31 3 0 0 12
2017 Super League 28 4 0 0 16
2018 Super League 3 0 0 0 0
Total 152 11 0 0 44
→ Doncaster (loan) 2014 Championship 3 1 0 0 4
Career total 377 30 0 0 120
As of match played 19 September 2024

References

  1. ^ "Liam Watts Castleford Biography". Castleford Tigers. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  2. ^ Rugby League Project
  3. ^ "Player Summary: Liam Watts". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  4. ^ a b Craven, Dave (25 March 2019). "Castleford Tigers' Liam Watts left surprised as he gets call-up for England". Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Castleford vs Lock Lane". Sky Sports. 11 March 2007. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Morgan turns to youth for Cup tie". BBC Sport. 18 April 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Watts handed new Hull KR contract". BBC Sport. 3 June 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  8. ^ "Liam Watts and Scott Murrell in shock England call-up". BBC Sport. 20 September 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  9. ^ "The Albert Goldthorpe Awards". totalrl.com. League Publications. Archived from the original on 26 March 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  10. ^ "Prop Liam Watts requests Hull Kingston Rovers release". BBC Sport. 11 June 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  11. ^ "Hull FC sign prop Liam Watts from rivals Hull KR". BBC Sport. 22 June 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  12. ^ "Hull sign up Watts". Sky Sports. 22 June 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  13. ^ "Super League: Liam Watts signs new three-year deal with Hull FC". Sky Sports. 30 July 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  14. ^ "Liam Watts and Jordan Abdull extend stay at Hull FC". Sky Sports. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  15. ^ "Hull FC's Jamie Shaul's late try takes Challenge Cup away from Warrington". Guardian. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  16. ^ "Challenge Cup final: Hull FC 12-10 Warrington Wolves". BBC. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  17. ^ "Hull FC 18-14 Wigan recap as the Black and Whites claim back-to-back Challenge Cup triumphs". Mirror. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  18. ^ a b "Liam Watts: Castleford Tigers sign Hull FC prop for 'significant fee'". BBC Sport. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
  19. ^ "Liam Watts joins Castleford Tigers from Hull FC". Sky Sports. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Super League Dream Team: St Helens quintet included in 2019 line-up". BBC Sport. 15 September 2019.
  21. ^ "Watts At The Treble On Awards Night". Castleford Tigers. 15 September 2019. Archived from the original on 5 June 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  22. ^ "2019 CTSC PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARDS NIGHT, Liam Watts and Kelsey Gentles win top awards. Report and photos". www.ctsc2.org.uk. 15 September 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  23. ^ "Liam Watts: Castleford Tigers prop agrees three-year contract extension". BBC Sport. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  24. ^ "Challenge Cup: St Helens beat Castleford 26-12 for first Wembley victory since 2008". BBC Sport.
  25. ^ "Castleford Tigers ace Alex Mellor delivers brutally honest assessment of 'awful' season; 'We've massively underperformed'". www.loverugbyleague.com. 22 September 2023.
  26. ^ Craven, David (17 February 2024). "Castleford Tigers boss Craig Lingard slams decisions after Liam Watts red card sees Wigan Warriors ease home". The Mirror. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  27. ^ Pattison, Cam (17 February 2024). "Why Castleford Tigers star was controversially red carded". Serious About Rugby League. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  28. ^ Freeman, Jay (17 February 2024). "Super League: Castleford Tigers 4-32 Wigan Warriors - Reigning champions begin with hard-earned win". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  29. ^ O'Brien, James (26 March 2024). "'Made an example of': Castleford Tigers prop Liam Watts questions consistency as crackdown eases". The Yorkshire Post. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  30. ^ Jackson, William (26 March 2019). "Former Hull FC prop Liam Watts 'shocked' by England call-up". Hull Live. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
  31. ^ "Sam Tomkins eager to lift inaugural World 9s title with England Down Under". Mirror. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
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