Ranking Castleford Tigers’ 10 best academy graduates in the Super League era
From left to right: Daryl Clark, Joe Westerman and Michael Shenton in action for Castleford Tigers
During the off-season here at Love Rugby League, we’re going to be bringing you the top 10 academy graduates from each Super League club.
There’s been hundreds – if not thousands – of players who have progressed through Super League academies who have gone on to become stars and international players over the years – with every club having their own homegrown heroes: some more, some less than their counterparts.
And Castleford have brought through a number of top line products over the years. Let’s get into them, we shall we? Love Rugby League looks at Castleford’s top 10 academy graduates from the Super League era.
10. Nathan Massey
Massey came through the ranks at his boyhood club Castleford, making his first-team debut back in 2007.
The 35-year-old was always once of the hardest-working players every time he pulled on a Tigers jersey as he went on to make 302 professional appearances for his hometown club before departing at the end of the 2023 campaign. He had a brief spell with Castleford’s neighbours Featherstone Rovers in the Championship in 2024 but retired from the game midway through the same season.
It’s fair to say Massey is a bonafide Castleford legend.
9. Oliver Holmes
At one point it looked like Holmes would be a one-club man after being a mainstay of Castleford’s pack for so many years, having played 229 games for the Tigers, scoring 45 tries.
But the one-time England international made the move to Warrington Wolves ahead of the 2022 campaign and has spent the last two seasons with Leigh Leopards. He will line up for his fourth club in 2025 after joining Hull FC.
Holmes served Castleford with distinction after progressing through the youth ranks at his boyhood club.
8. Liam Watts
Featherstone-born Watts came through the system at Castleford but would only make one first-team appearance in 2007 before departing for Hull KR.
He spent five seasons with the Robins before making a cross-city move to rivals Hull FC, enjoying seven years with the Black and Whites, helping Lee Radford’s side win back-to-back Challenge Cups in 2016 and 2017.
Watts returned to Castleford in 2018 though, and has made 147 appearances in total for the Fords to date.
A genuine Super League stalwart.
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7. Adam Milner
Similar to several others in this list, Milner was a player who people probably presumed was going to wear the black and amber jersey for the rest of his career at one stage.
Milner, who won three caps for England in 2018, scored 38 tries in 301 appearances for the Tigers between 2010 and 2023 before moving to Huddersfield.
The Wakefield-born hooker has spent the last two seasons with the Giants but will drop out of Super League for the first time in his career next season after joining Championship new boys Oldham.
6. Greg Eden
Eden came through the academy at Castleford before going on to make his senior debut in 2011, scoring a try against Warrington.
But the Castleford-born speedster would only make two more appearances for the Tigers that year before making the move across West Yorkshire to Huddersfield.
He spent the 2012 campaign with the Giants before then enjoying two years at Hull KR, with his performances for the Robins earning him a shot in the NRL with Brisbane Broncos, scoring two tries in seven first-grade games for the NRL giants.
He returned to Castleford in 2017 and went on to spend seven seasons at the Jungle, scoring 112 tries in 122 appearances for the Fords.
Eden joined Halifax Panthers ahead of the 2024 but soon made the switch to Featherstone Rovers midway through the campaign.
5. Danny Orr
Former Great Britain and England international Orr is somewhat of an icon in Super League having made 429 career appearances, with 245 of those coming in the black and amber jersey of Castleford.
The Castleford-born halfback enjoyed three seasons in Lancashire with Wigan Warriors between 2004 and 2006 before spending four seasons in the capital with London Broncos, who were then under the Harlequins tagline.
All four of Orr’s international caps came whilst he was plying his trade with the Tigers.
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4. Joe Westerman
Westerman is one of the best loose forwards of the Super League era: and perhaps he can count himself unlucky not to have more than two England caps due to having Wigan legend Sean O’Loughlin and Leeds icon Kevin Sinfield in front of him in England’s pecking order over the years.
The 35-year-old has played for five clubs – Castleford, Hull, Warrington, Toronto and Wakefield – during his stellar career but his most memorable stints have come whilst at Castleford and Hull.
Westerman is a traditional ball-playing loose forward who has become a legend on the terraces at the Jungle, having scored 48 tries in 181 appearances for the Tigers.
3. Andy Lynch
Lynch played his junior rugby with his local club Kippax Welfare before turning professional with Castleford, making his first-team debut all the way back in 1999.
The former Great Britain and England international enjoyed two spells with the Tigers, registering 229 appearances for the Tigers across a total of 10 seasons.
Lycnh, who was named in the Super League Dream Team in 2003 whilst with Cas, also enjoyed a long and successful stint with Bradford, playing 204 games with the Bulls between 2005 and 2011.
The Leeds-born prop is one of the most underrated front-rowers of the Super League era. A consistently standout performer in his heydey.
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2. Michael Shenton
Shenton is one of the finest centres that Super League has seen, having scored 184 tries in 405 career appearances for club and country.
The Ponteract-born centre was named in the Super League Dream Team three times (2014, 2015 and 2017) during his time with Castleford.
Shenton spent a total of 16 seasons across two spells with the Fords, scoring 161 tries in 347 games for the club.
He also played for St Helens for two seasons in 2011 and 2012, scoring 20 tries in 58 games in the Red V. Shenton also made 14 appearances on the international stage for England, too.
A world-class centre in his pomp who probably had opportunities to go to the NRL. A real classy centre.
1. Daryl Clark
Clark is, arguably, the best player to ever come through the Castleford academy in the Super League: and that’s why he is at the very top of our ranking.
The Great Britain and England international made his first-team debut for the Tigers in 2011 and spent four seasons with the Tigers, scoring 37 tries in 94 games.
He won the Steve Prescott Man of Steel award in his final season at the Jungle in 2014: and anyone who is old enough to remember that year knows just how insanely good Clark was.
The Castleford-born hooker made the move across the Pennines to Warrington prior to the 2015 campaign, and would spent nine seasons with the Wolves prior to joining St Helens ahead of last year.
Clark’s longevity to be one of the best hookers in Super League for well over a decade is, quite frankly, outrageous.
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