DEWSBURY RAMS assistant coach Conor Turner praised Paul Sykes after the veteran halfback produced a man-of-the-match performance in the first outing of his record-extending 28th season in the professional game.
The 44-year-old former England and Great Britain international has returned from a knee injury, and featured in the 1895 Cup first-round home meeting with Widnes – getting the thumbs up from his club in their top-player poll.
By running out eleven times for the Rams last year, Sykes set a new Rugby League record by exceeding the 26 seasons completed by Gus Risman, the former Salford, Workington, Batley, Wales and Great Britain back.
Sykes made his debut for Bradford, where he came through the Academy, in 1999 and also represented London Broncos, Bradford again, Wakefield and Featherstone before joining Dewsbury, his hometown club, in 2016. He signed a contract extension for this year in December.
He had a spell as interim Dewsbury player-coach in 2022, and was earlier this year added to the RFL Roll of Honour in recognition of his lasting contribution to the sport.
Sykes was unable to help Dewsbury avoid a 50-10 defeat, which followed a 20-10 home loss to the same opponents in the league the week before.
But Turner pointed out: “Paul was man of the match. He did what he does, went about his business and led the team around the field. He’s still going strong, and 28 seasons is a fair old knock.”
Turner was also pleased with the debut of Sam Spencer, the teenage winger who spent time in Bradford’s development system and was signed from amateur team Dewsbury Celtic over the close-season, adding: “We wanted to take the opportunity to give him a chance, and he did well.”