Sylvester Namo: Castleford sign PNG international as Liam Watts agrees new deal

Sylvester Namo played three times for Papua New Guinea at the 2021 Rugby League World Cup

Castleford have added Papua New Guinea international Sylvester Namo to their squad on a two-year deal.

The 23-year-old will be packing down with Liam Watts next season, who has signed for another year.

Namo appeared for PNG at the 2021 World Cup and joins from the North Queensland Cowboys, where he spent 2023 on a train-and-replacement basis.

He will link up with Cas in November for the start of pre-season training ahead of the new campaign.

Watts, in his second spell with his hometown club, has agreed to a new deal with an option for a further 12 months.

Namo told the Castleford website: "I'm a little bit nervous to be travelling alone, compared to the World Cup when I came with a full squad, but it's going to be a great moment for me going overseas to play in England especially playing at Castleford Tigers.

"We have a few PNG boys who will be good together. Liam Horne was telling me that the fans here are crazy and I can't wait to come and meet them.

"I'll be going onto the field to run hard, tackle hard and do my job".

Watts returned to Wheldon Road in 2018 and has made 118 appearances in the last six seasons.

The potential extra year on Watts' new deal will be triggered by the number of games he plays in 2024.

Watts, who was selected for the Super League Dream Team in 2019, said: "I've not really chased it too much, I just wanted to be playing as well as I could and consistently, and hopefully just let the deal take care of itself.

"It's going to be a massive next 12 months for me. I want to be playing well but it's about mentoring and bringing a lot of stuff out of the young kids that are at the club, like Muizz Mustapha and Sam Hall.

"I'm a Cas lad and I'm not happy personally with how we've performed this year and I don't think anybody is, so that hurts as well and I don't want another year of that."

It has been a busy week for the Yorkshire club, who have also added two more forwards, in Namo's PNG teammate Nixon Putt and Lebanon international Elie El-Zakhem, to their squad.

Liam Watts (right) says mentoring younger players, like Will Dagger (left), will be an important part of his role at Castleford after signing a new contract