Nathan Massey (born 11 July 1989) is an English former 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 played as a or 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 ...

and the

RFL Championship The Championship, known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a professional rugby league competition. It is the Rugby Football League Championship Second Division, second-tier competition organised by the Rugby Football Lea ...

in the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. Massey spent the majority of his playing career with 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 No. 876) in the

after progressing through the club's academy. Across a 19-year stay at Castleford, he made 302 senior appearances, ranking second only to former captain

Michael Shenton Michael Shenton (born 22 July 1986), also known by the nickname of "Shenny", is a former English professional rugby league footballer who played as a and was the captain of the Castleford Tigers ( Heritage № 810) in the Super League. An Eng ...

in the summer era. He played in the

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and

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Challenge Cup finals, the

2017 Super League Grand Final The 2017 Super League Grand Final was the 20th official Grand Final championship-deciding game of the Super League XXII. It was held at Old Trafford, Manchester on 7 October 2017, kick off 18.00. Leeds Rhinos became champions for a record 8th t ...

, and won the 2017

League Leaders' Shield The League Leaders' Shield is a shield awarded to the team finishing the season top of Super League in the sport of rugby league football. Currently, and for most of Super League's history, the championship is decided on the basis of a play-off se ...

. Early in his career, he spent time on loan or dual registration from Castleford at Featherstone Rovers,

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 York City Knights in the

, and at the

Keighley Cougars The Keighley Cougars are a professional rugby league club from Keighley in West Yorkshire, England who compete in League 1, the third tier of English rugby league. Keighley's home ground, Cougar Park has a capacity of 7,800. History Early y ...

and York City Knights in League 1. He signed for Featherstone Rovers in 2024 where he spent one season before announcing his retirement.

Background

Massey was born in

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins the ...

West Yorkshire, England 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 exist ...

. Massey played junior rugby league for

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

-based side Walton Warriors before being signed to the

academy at the age of 15.

Playing career

Castleford Tigers

Massey progressed through the ranks at the

academy and made his first team début on 11 March 2007 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 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 ...

. He was named the Tigers Academy player of the year in 2007. On 24 March 2008, Massey made his

début for Castleford against the Warrington Wolves. In the 2008 season, Massey spent time on loan at Featherstone in the Championship and at

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

in League 1 to gain first team experience. He impressed for the Knights, who expressed a desire to extend his stay at the club into the next season. He was given an upgraded full-time contract by Castleford in August 2008. Massey spent time on loan at

alongside several Castleford teammates in 2009. In March 2010, he joined

on a dual registration deal. Despite making an impressive debut, he suffered a severe shoulder injury against the

Sheffield Eagles The Sheffield Eagles are a professional rugby league club that play in the Championship (rugby league), Betfred Championship. The club play their home games at the Olympic Legacy Park (OLP) on the former site of Don Valley Stadium, their forme ...

in his first game for the club, ending his season prematurely. Massey began the 2011 season playing for the York City Knights in the Championship through their dual registration arrangement with Castleford. He had been linked with a loan move to Harlequins but the Tigers preferred he went to York, from whom he could be recalled each week if needed. In his second spell with the club, he was voted the Player of the Month for February, and scored his first competitive try on 13 March against

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...

. In June, the Knights decided against renewing Massey's temporary deal to free up salary cap space and instead develop their own players; he scored 2 tries against

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

in the

on his return to Castleford. Injuries to teammates afforded Massey an extended run in the Tigers' first team, and he made 15 appearances during the remainder of the season. He played in the 2014 Challenge Cup Final defeat by the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headi ...

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. He played in the

defeat by the

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wemb ...

. On 30 April 2021, Massey made his 250th Castleford appearance. 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. Massey made his 300th Castleford appearance on 8 September 2023 in the Tigers' 29–12 victory over

Hull FC 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 wer ...

Featherstone Rovers

On 10 November 2023, it was announced that Massey had signed for Featherstone Rovers for the 2024 season. He had originally agreed terms while Featherstone were anticipating promotion to the

, but said he "wanted to commit to the project even though we're still in the Championship".

International honours

On 4 November 2007, Massey was named as one of ten s for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in a 70–0 warm-up game defeat by

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

Barrow Barrow may refer to: Places England * Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria ** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area ** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency) * Barrow, Cheshire * Barrow, Gloucestershire * Barro ...

's stadium, Craven Park. He has later clarified that he has "no allegiance to America", with the experience coming about through U.S. team manager Mick Robinson being football manager at Castleford. He has had no involvement since, being ineligible under IRL rules.

Statistics

References

External links

Castleford Tigers profileSuper League profileFeatherstone Rovers profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Massey, Nathan 1989 births Living people Castleford Tigers players English rugby league players Featherstone Rovers players Newcastle Thunder players Keighley Cougars players Rugby league players from Castleford Rugby league props York City Knights players