MIDLANDS HURRICANES centre Ross Oakes is ready to put memories of a troublesome injury on the back burner as he aims to help the Birmingham side progress in the play-offs.
The 29-year-old, who came through the ranks and played more than 90 times for his home city club Bradford when Hurricanes team chief Mark Dunning was on the backroom staff there, has now returned full fitness following the bicep issue.
And after penning a contract extension to 2028, Oakes is looking forward as he works to help his club continue an impressive campaign after moving up to the merged second tier from League One, then build on it in 2027.
“The club keeps improving each year and it’s an exciting thing to be a part of. I’m keen to seeing how far we can go,” said the Drighlington product, who spent two seasons at Sheffield and made a dual-registration appearance for Midlands in the second of them before making the move permanent ahead of the 2024 season.
“It’s been a tough year for me personally with the injury, but I want to finish the season strongly and the prospect of having two more big years here is great.”
Dunning, whose side finished their regular season with a 98-0 win over North Wales and now host Whitehaven on Saturday, said: “After being an ever-present last year, Ross has had to do it tough due to missing a large portion of this season with the injury picked up at Keighley in the Challenge Cup third round in February.
“Despite that, he remained positive and professional during his recovery and worked hard to get back on the field.
“We have seen in recent weeks what he adds to the group, and we look forward to a strong finish to the season from him and a big contribution moving forward.”