After signing on to play rugby league again with the Castleford Tigers, Franze made his début for the club in their round nine clash against the Wakefield Trinity Wildcats on 14 April; He was named on the bench, eventually coming off to make his début late in the match. Franze went on to make another two appearances for the struggling Tigers before dramatically deciding to opt out of the remaining time on his contract, citing fatigue as this was the beginning of "his third straight season of rugby" without an off-season.