THERE was a time in 2022 when Castleford Tigers forward Liam Watts seemed to be getting banned on a regular basis.
In fact, Watts sat out nine of the Tigers’ 29 games in the 2022 Super League season after being handed six bans throughout the year.
Now, the former Hull FC star has opened up on losing the ‘buzz’ for the game last season.
“I wasn’t enjoying it, I wasn’t getting that buzz. The game had changed, the rules had changed and all the aggression had been cut out of the game,” Watts said on the JMAcademyTV podcast.
“That’s what I thrive off; the buzz that I get and the aggression side of that has been squashed.”
Watts is now determined to turn the hardships of last season into motivation for the upcoming campaign, learning to change his game in the process.
“This year I’ve tried to turn it from a negative into a positive and tried to look at the positives,” Watts continued.
“I’m here for a reason and that’s to play rugby league so I need to try and enjoy it instead of getting p*ssed off with it.”
Heading into the 2023 Super League season, Watts is out of contract which will be further motivation to turn things around.
