CASTLEFORD TIGERS endured a difficult time during the 2024 Super League season – that much is fact.
Winning just seven league games, the West Yorkshire side finished third bottom, with head coach Craig Lingard being axed in favour of assistant Danny McGuire.
But, one man stood out for the Tigers last season with his sniping out of dummy-half and his leadership in defence – Papua New Guinea international Liam Horne.
Horne, 26, joined Castleford towards the back end of the 2023 Super League season on a one-and-a-half year deal before signing a two-year contract during last season.
However, the skill and passion of the hooker/loose-forward may have been lost to the game forever if he had decided to retire whilst working as en electrician in 2023, alongside playing for the Norths Devils in Australia’s Queensland Cup.
When Horne learned of the Tigers’ interest, however, he jumped ship as quickly as possible to take up the offer.
The 26-year-old said on the Unkles Poddy podcast: “It was 2023, towards the start of the year. I was actually at work and at that time I wasn’t too sure if I was going to keep playing footy because it gets a bit too much when you’re working full-time. I just wasn’t sure if I wanted to play rugby league anymore.
“It was getting to that stage, I was just thinking, should I keep playing or should I just give up and just keep being a sparky? Then I got a call from my manager who says that there’s an opportunity over in England (with Castleford)
“I remember I just signed it, it was early in the morning and I packed up all my tools and I just left. I didn’t even tell the boss. I was like, I’m getting out of here, man, I’m done. So I just packed up all my tools and I just left. I didn’t even tell him I was leaving.
“I went over there last year at the back end of the year, I played about six games and it was a really good experience. I went from playing in front of hundreds of people and playing in front of thousands of people.
“So it was a big transition to make, but it’s been a really good experience so far.”
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