Castleford Tigers young gun seals season-long Championship loan
A general view of The OneBore Stadium, the home of Castleford Tigers
Castleford Tigers young gun Alfie Horwell has sealed a season-long loan switch to Championship outfit Newcastle Thunder.
Horwell, who will turn 21 in September, awaits his first-team debut for Super League side Cas.
The hooker does though already have four senior appearances to his name, and all of those came at the back end of last season for Newcastle during their time in League 1.
Two of those four games for Thunder last term saw him start, against Keighley Cougars and Midlands Hurricanes.
The other two games – against Whitehaven and Goole Vikings – both saw him feature off the bench, with the youngster grabbing the first try of his professional career against the Cumbrians.
Circa 11 months on from first joining North East outfit Newcastle, Horwell will now return on loan until the end of the 2026 campaign.
Castleford Tigers young gun Alfie Horwell seals season-long Championship loan with Newcastle Thunder
Horwell links back up with Thunder as they sit second on the Championship ladder, trailing only red-hot title favourites London Broncos by four competition points, albeit having played a game more.
Newcastle have a partnership agreement with Super League outfit York which sees the Knights’ fringe players get game time by donning a shirt in the Championship week-to-week.
Graham Steadman’s side have benefitted from that, losing just three of their 15 league games so far this term, with their current run standing at nine consecutive Championship victories.
This weekend could bring a second Thunder debut for Horwell as they visit strugglers North Wales Crusaders, with the Colwyn Bay outfit having shipped 116 points to Widnes Vikings last time out.
Newcastle have just six ‘regular’ season games remaining, including Sunday’s trip to Crusaders, before the Championship play-offs come around, which this year involve the division’s top ten sides.
As always given the loan system adopted by the British game ahead of this season, Horwell’s parent club Castleford reserve the right to recall the 20-year-old before the end of the season if they see fit.
Equally, as loans are now decided on a week-to-week basis, the Tigers could recall Horwell one week and send him back out on loan to Newcastle or indeed another club the following week.
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