NORTH WALES CRUSADERS will celebrate the 500th match in their 20 years in the professional game when Goole Vikings visit Colwyn Bay tomorrow (Sunday).

Their journey started in 2006 as Celtic Crusaders with a 50-10 win away at Hemel Hempstead Stags while based in Bridgend, and it took them as far as Super League as Crusaders, when they relocated to Wrexham.

Following the demise of the Super League club which saw its withdrawal at the end of the 2011 season, the North Wales club was reborn in the third tier and continued the Crusaders presence in the professional game.

Highlights include the two League One title wins in 2007 and 2013, reaching the then National League One Grand Final in 2008 prior to elevation to Super League, and of course the three years in the top flight, which included the relocation from south Wales to the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham, where the 2010 season started in the snow against Leeds.

Their 499 games to date has seen 252 wins, 241 defeats and six draws, with 2,403 tries scored and a total of 367 players used.

Thanks to Rugby League Record Keepers’ Club for the statistics.