'Crazy money': Castleford Tigers boss Danny McGuire makes Liam Watts claim after shock Hull FC return

The 34-year-old came to a mutual agreement with Castleford to terminate his contract last week after failing to feature in the early rounds of the Super League season.

Watts had struggled to keep up with the demands of the new regime at Wheldon Road and the expectation was that he would drop down to the Championship as a part-time player.

However, the veteran front-rower has extended his Super League career with former club Hull on a deal until the end of the year.

"I didn't see it coming if I'm honest,” said McGuire.

"We had a really good amicable honest chat about where Wattsy was at. The club's understanding was that he wanted to transition into the next part of his career and we assumed that was part-time alongside doing some work.

"His body was letting him down a little bit and he couldn’t do what we needed. We're trying to create a team where you come in and work hard and you're committed and Wattsy couldn't quite give us that.

“I wanted him to be part of that and put him in the leadership group to help some of our younger players develop. He did that in stages.

"But he approached the club saying he couldn't manage and live with a full-time environment. He was struggling to commit to that."

McGuire is of the impression that Watts would benefit from a lighter training schedule at Hull.

"He's been a good servant and had done a lot of good things for the club so we felt it was in the right way to go about it to granting him an opportunity to look elsewhere,” added McGuire.

"If a club comes in, throws crazy money at you and says you don't have to train, I can understand why he's taken that opportunity at Hull. Best of luck to him.”