HUNSLET coach Alan Kilshaw vowed at the beginning of the week to add “depth and quality” to his squad, and has lived up to his promise with two new signings.
The sixth-placed club, fresh from an impressive home win over North Wales Crusaders, have added Macauley Hallett and Sion Jones on deals for the remainder of the season.
Hallett, 26, joins from Hull Dockers, having previously had spells in the professional game with Hull KR, Swinton Lions, Batley Bulldogs, Dewsbury Rams and Keighley Cougars.
“He’s a big strong centre, has speed and is powerful,” said Kilshaw.
“He’s just the type of strike weapon we have been looking for and will add additional size and pace to our back line.
“Macca’s always played well when I’ve coached against him and I now get the chance to work with him, which is exciting.”
Welsh international prop Jones has rejoined the club after having spent time on loan at Hunslet from Halifax Panthers last season.
It is also a quick return to Rugby League after a short spell in the union code with Pontypridd.
“He’s a good size, carries strong and defends tough through the middle,” added Kilshaw of Jones.
“If he hits the ground running, I expect him to be pushing for selection by Wales in the World Cup.”
Meanwhile, halfback Jack Mallinson has left Hunslet to sign for Albury Thunder in Australia.
Explaining the new recruitment drive, Kilshaw added: “We are committed to finishing as high in the league as possible and looking to hit our stride in the play-offs. It was always our plan to add to the squad at this stage of the season.”
+++++
An online fundraising campaign has been launched to support KEIGHLEY COUGARS director Mike Smith, who suffered life-changing injuries last year.
Smith was left unable to walk, talk or use his right arm after being attacked in a violent robbery at his home and spent almost six months in hospital.
He has now been discharged but remains wheelchair-bound and requires the help of carers, while the trauma to his skull has caused him to suffer with dyspraxia and aphasia, which affects speech.
Helen Alison, a close family friend, has set up a GoFundMe page with the aim of raising £10,000 towards mobility aids and equipment, specialist speech therapy and physio.
She said: “Through no fault of their own Mike and (his wife) Jude have been forced to leave their home and relocate to temporary accommodation which is wheelchair accessible.
“Even though Mike will undergo physiotherapy to help improve his mobility and speech, there are no guarantees that these will ever improve.
“To assist with his rehabilitation, we are raising money so that equipment can be purchased to assist with Mike’s quality of life, which has been so drastically impaired due to this violent and unprovoked attack.”
Donations to the campaign, which has so far raised over £2,700, can be made at https://www.gofundme.com/f/fundraising-for-mobility-equipment
Meanwhile, Cougar Park on Saturday hosted Jake Webster’s testimonial game.
A Keighley Cougars All Stars team, led by Barry Eaton, played a Jake Webster All Stars side, which included Robbie Hunter-Paul and current Cougars head coach Rhys Lovegrove.
+++++
OLDHAM coach Stuart Littler believes Owen Restall’s call-up to the Wales squad for Sunday’s trip to France is no more than the young fullback deserves.
Restall was one of ten potential debutants in John Kear’s 21-man squad to travel to Albi and Littler couldn’t be happier to see him selected.
“Owen has been a real success story this year,” said Litter.
“To come in from the amateur game and hit ground running, as he has, has been great to see.
“He is in top three try scorers in this league, playing for a team that’s probably not where we want to be in the table.
“That shows how well he has adapted to life as a professional Rugby League player.
“We all knew he was an outstanding amateur player before this year and now I am looking forward to seeing how he develops further with the Wales squad.”
Restall’s Oldham team-mate Calvin Wellington was named in the initial 30-man Wales squad, before it was trimmed down ahead of the match. And while disappointed he missed out, having two players selected initially was great to see for Littler.
“Having them both called up in the first place is massive for the club,” added Littler.
“The more international standard level players we can get, the better we’re doing.”
+++++
NORTH WALES CRUSADERS head coach Anthony Murray has urged his side to work hard to get out of their current dip in form and rediscover their “winning formula”.
They started the season in eye-catching fashion as a deep Challenge Cup run was followed by winning the first eight matches of the season.
Their perfect streak was ended by Keighley Cougars, who replaced them at the top of the League One table, at the start of June.
But that was followed by a second defeat, away at Hunslet, which dropped North Wales down to third and gave them plenty to think about over the international break.
Murray hopes his side can recover this Sunday and get their season back on track when Doncaster visit Stadiwm Eirias.
“There are always periods in seasons with peaks and troughs,” he said.
“We’re in a trough at the moment. Off the back of eight wins, in the last two games we’ve faced defeat.
“We’ve got to bounce back. We’ve lost our grip on second. There’s the opportunity to face Doncaster, which is not going to be easy.
“We’ve got to try and find the winning formula again and keep moving forward as a team.
“We’re at the halfway stage, we’re sitting third, it’s still a decent position to be in. It’s just (about) how we keep striving to improve.”
+++++
CORNWALL head coach Neil Kelly found little to fault in his players despite falling to a tenth defeat from ten matches this season.
Their inaugural campaign as a professional club has had some concerning performances but Kelly did not believe their latest loss, to Keighley Cougars, was one of them.
They were beaten 56-12 at home against the big-spending and unbeaten league leaders.
“It was a difficult game and Keighley are a good side,” said Kelly.
“We didn’t get the result but anyone who was at the game couldn’t have failed to recognise the spirit and the endeavour that my team played with.
“There was a never-say-die attitude after we had a man (Liam Whitton) sent off and playing the top side in this division, we have come away with the same scoreline as Keighley inflicted on the side (North Wales Crusaders) that are second in this division.
“I feared this game because we were shorn of a few players who were part and parcel of our continued improvements. You watch videos of Keighley, who score points for fun, and I was a little concerned.”
Whitton avoided a ban for the incident that saw him dismissed but Luke Collins, who was sin binned for a late tackle in the same game, has received a two-match ban.
The hooker will miss this Sunday’s trip to West Wales Raiders, where Cornwall will hope to finally get their first win as a club, and the following week’s visit of Hunslet.
+++++
DONCASTER coach Richard Horne knows his side will need to find new gears to see off North Wales Crusaders this weekend.
The Dons have had a three-week break – with a bye weekend followed by international action – since a notable win over Hunslet.
But the squad has been hard at work in that time knowing a big effort will be needed to reverse the 46-0 defeat inflicted on them by the Crusaders at the Eco-Power Stadium back in May.
“We’ve got to take it up another gear when we go away to North Wales Crusaders,” said Horne.
“They showed us up down here. We need to go there and make sure we’re better than we were then.
“We’re gearing now for North Wales; all the prep is on that, making sure everybody is fit and healthy and good to go for then.”
+++++
LONDON SKOLARS‘ Michael Greenhalgh has received a three-match ban for punching.
The forward was shown the yellow card for the incident, during Skolars’ victory over Cornwall at the beginning of June.
He was referred to a tribunal on a Grade D punching charge and they have handed down a three-game suspension, as well as a £75 fine.
Greenhalgh was playing his first game back for the club since returning from London Broncos on a deal until the end of the season, reuniting with brother Judd in the process.
+++++
MIDLANDS HURRICANES will be without halfback Benn Hardcastle until the end of July after he was slapped with a four-game suspension.
Hardcastle was sent to the sin bin for the crusher tackle late in the first half of Midlands’ win over West Wales Raiders in early June, and an RFL tribunal found him guilty of a Grade D charge of dangerous contact.
The Hurricanes have a bye this weekend but Hardcastle will miss all but the last of their five fixtures in July, against the division’s current top four – Rochdale Hornets, North Wales Crusaders, Swinton Lions and Keighley Cougars.
The West Wales win was only their third of the season and their first under interim coach Dave Scott, though it was followed with a 66-0 loss at Oldham to head into a three-week break.
Head coach Richard Squires will return to lead the team from July 9, when his suspension from the game for a breach of betting rules will expire.
+++++
ROCHDALE HORNETS know they need to start beating the sides above them if they want to be successful this season.
They’ve won seven of their ten matches at the halfway point in the campaign. But the three defeats came to the teams currently above the fourth-placed Hornets – North Wales Crusaders, Keighley Cougars and most recently Swinton Lions.
“Seven out of ten isn’t too bad, but I’m disappointed that the three games we have lost have been against the top sides in the division,” said Rochdale Chairman Andy Mazey.
“We really want to put a marker down and beat one of those. We haven’t managed to do that yet, which is disappointing for the club, the staff and players. We’d like to have knocked one of the big boys off.
“With the play-offs at the end of the year, it’s imperative that you get your form right in the second half of the year leading into the play-offs.
“Ultimately if you want to achieve anything, you’ll need to beat one of the top sides.”
Kieron Dixon’s short-term loan at the Hornets has ended, but the club hope to see his Leigh Centurions teammate Jy Hitchcox return to the Crown Oil Arena once he recovers from injury.
+++++
SWINTON LIONS winger Mike Butt passed the mark of 150 appearances for the club in their recent victory over Rochdale Hornets.
Allan Coleman’s side moved up to second place in the League One table at the halfway point in the season with the win.
The prolific Butt, 27, was perhaps unsurprisingly among the scorers in his landmark game, crossing early in the second half to help them on the way to a 34-14 success.
Butt, who was on international duty with Wales at the weekend, made his Swinton debut in 2015 and will next be targeting the milestone of 100 tries for the club, after his effort against Rochdale took him to 91.
Swinton next head to London Skolars this Saturday.
+++++
WEST WALES RAIDERS will be without Ewan Badham for Saturday’s key visit of Cornwall.
The Raiders will be keen to do the double over League One’s newest club following their victory in Penryn in May, having never previously won more than one match in a season.
But Ash Bateman will have to do without the former Hull FC prop, who received a one-match ban for a shoulder charge in the club’s defeat to London Skolars.
Meanwhile, Kieran Lewis missed out on a shot at a Wales debut last week after falling ill.
But Raiders skipper Joe Burke was part of the 21-man squad that headed to Albi for their international against France.
The above content is also available in the regular weekly edition of League Express, on newsstands every Monday in the UK and as a digital download. Click here for more details.