Castleford Tigers ready for big test against Huddersfield Giants in Nathan Massey testimonial match

One-club man Massey is about to start his 17th season with the Tigers and has been granted a richly deserved testimonial this year after making 273 appearances for the club.

Often an unsung hero in the team, the 33-year-old forward has seen some big ups and downs in his time with his hometown club, but can count two Challenge Cup final appearances to his name as well as the 2017 Super League Grand Final.

He made his debut in a 2007 Challenge Cup tie against Lock Lane and apart from loan spells with several teams as a youngster has played all his career with the Castleford team who first gave him his chance.

Now comes his testimonial match all these years on and loyal Massey remains proud to still be a Tiger.

He said: “I’ve made it no secret that I am so proud to play for this town and this club.

“This club has got a lot of history and a lot of special players who have done a lot of special things so to be able to achieve a testimonial here and play my career here is something that I’m immensely proud of.

“I’ve designed a kit with Oxen for the game and I’ve had some great sponsors on board who have supported me. We’ll be running out in my kit with my logo on the badge, it’s a really proud moment for me and my family.”

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The testimonial match will also be taken seriously as the final warm-up for the forthcoming Super League season with Lee Radford likely to give minutes to as many of his first team squad he can and Massey backing up his head coach’s belief that the team will be stronger in 2023.

He added: “It’s a real test against Huddersfield, they had a great year last year and they’ve recruited really well.

“I think the signings we’ve made this year are really going to bolster us in key areas. We’ve signed two really experienced half-backs. We’ve brought in some fresh new players like Muizz Mustapha and Jack Broadbent. Alex Mellor came in halfway through last year and was outstanding for us.

“So we’ve got a really good balance this year. With the signings we’ve made and the personnel we already had last year, I think we’ve got a really competitive team this year.”