Liam Watts (born 8 July 1990) is an English professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who plays as a for the

Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England, that compete in the Super League, the top-level professional rugby league club competition in the Northern Hemisphere. The club have competed i ...

( Heritage № 877) in the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

. He is an

England Knights England Knights (previously known as Emerging England and England A) is considered the feeder team for the England rugby league team. The Knights play a key role in the development of emerging talent, allowing players to gain experience in an i ...

international. He has previously played in the

for Hull Kingston Rovers and

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...

, and in the Championship on loan at

Gateshead Thunder Gateshead Thunder may refer to: *Gateshead Thunder (1999), a rugby league team formed in 1999 and then merged with Hull Sharks *Gateshead Thunder (2000) Gateshead Thunder may refer to: *Gateshead Thunder (1999) Gateshead Thunder was a profes ...

and

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

Background

Watts was born in Featherstone,

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, England, and he was a junior at Featherstone Lions.

Career

Castleford Tigers

Watts made his first team debut and scored a try for the

in an 88-10 victory over

Castleford Lock Lane Lock Lane ARLFC are an amateur Rugby league Club in Castleford, West Yorkshire. Their home ground is the Hicksons Arena, part of the Lock Lane Sports Centre. The first team currently play in the National Conference Division One and the Acad ...

in the Challenge Cup third round on 11 March 2007.

Hull Kingston Rovers

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

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, and awarded the 2010 Albert Goldthorpe Rookie of the Year Medal.

Gateshead Thunder

In 2009 he spent time on loan from Hull KR at

in League 1.

Hull FC

Watts requested to be released from his contract with Hull Kingston Rovers in June 2012, and joined

on a three-and-a-half-year contract. Hull coach

Peter Gentle Peter Gentle (born ) is an Australian rugby league coach and former footballer who played in the 1980s. Gentle is currently the Assistant Coach at the St. George Illawarra Dragons. Club career A halfback and St. George junior, Gentle played t ...

said: "Liam is certainly a promising player for the future and we are looking forward to helping him realise his potential". He signed a new three-year contract in July 2014, and a further two-year contract in March 2017. He won the

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

with Hull in 2016 and 2017 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

Doncaster

He spent time on loan from

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

, playing for

in 2014.

Castleford Tigers

Watts signed for

on a three-year deal in March 2018. Hull had agreed a fee with Championship side Toronto Wolfpack, but Castleford's "last-minute significant offer" saw him return to Wheldon Road. 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. 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. He was also named as the Castleford Tigers Supporters Club player of the year. He signed a three-year extension until the end of the 2023 season in July 2019. On 17 July 2021, he played for Castleford in their

2021 Challenge Cup Final The 2021 Challenge Cup Final was the 120th final of rugby league's Challenge Cup knock-out competition. It took place on 17 July 2021 at Wembley Stadium between Castleford Tigers and St Helens. Background The 2021 Challenge Cup Final was ...

loss against St. Helens.

International career

England Knights

Watts played for the

in 2011.

England

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

England 9s

He was selected in

England 9s The 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s was an international rugby league tournament played in the rugby league nines format, to be held in Australia on 18 and 19 October 2019. Twelve national teams competed, with four of those also fielding women's team ...

squad for the

2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s The 2019 Rugby League World Cup 9s was the first staging of the Rugby League World Cup 9s tournament and took place on 18 and 19 October 2019 at Sydney's Bankwest Stadium. The tournament featured teams from 12 International Rugby League member ...

References

External links

Profile at castlefordtigers.com
*(archived by web.archive.org
Profile at hullfc.com
*(archived by web.archive.org
Profile at hullkr.co.ukProfile at superleague.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Liam 1990 births Living people Castleford Tigers players Doncaster R.L.F.C. players England Knights national rugby league team players English rugby league players Hull F.C. players Hull Kingston Rovers players Newcastle Thunder players Rugby league props Rugby league players from Featherstone