FEATHERSTONE ROVERS have taken Tonga international winger Sosaia Feki on loan from neighbours Castleford Tigers.
The 30-year-old former Cronulla Sharks NRL title winner (in 2016) is hoping to rekindle his career after playing just once in two years because of injuries.
After joining Castleford on a three-year contract ahead of the 2020 season, he suffered a torn calf before the campaign began.
When Feki eventually made his debut in the Challenge Cup sixth-round defeat by Hull, he went off after just 24 minutes with a knee injury.
He then ruptured an Achilles tendon during the 2021 pre-season and was ruled out for the whole of the year.
Feki, who came through the New Zealand Warriors development system before switching to Cronulla in 2013, recently played in Castleford’s Reserve Championship game at Salford, and is now ready to step up his return.
His initial two-week stint at Featherstone, who are fresh from visiting Dewsbury, also takes in Saturday’s home clash with Whitehaven, which has been brought forward by 24 hours and will kick off at 5.30pm.
“As he looks to get back to 100 per cent, the move will offer him the opportunity to get valuable match minutes ahead of consideration for his long-awaited return to Super League action with Castleford,” said the Tigers in a statement.
Promotion-chasing Rovers have been actively reshaping their squad in recent weeks, with Feki linking up with ex-Castleford team-mate Tyla Hepi.
The Kiwi prop joined Featherstone last month and has been reunited with former Toulouse team-mates Mark Kheirallah and Johnathon Ford.
Fullback Kheirallah and halfback Ford were signed in March and April respectively after parting company with the French club, whom they helped win promotion to Super League by beating Rovers in last year’s Million Pound Game.
Meanwhile Featherstone have loaned prop Callum Field to Championship rivals Widnes for the remainder of this season. There is no recall option on the 24-year-old.
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BARROW RAIDERS hooker Nathan Mossop says he feels privileged to have made 250 appearances for the club.
The 34-year-old, who is in his testimonial season, reached the impressive milestone in the 1895 Cup semi-final home defeat by Featherstone.
An ever-present in last year’s League One title-winning campaign, he is in his second spell at Barrow, for whom he has scored 55 tries.
In the first, from 2009 to 2011, he played in 59 matches before spending a season at South Wales Scorpions.
He returned to the Raiders in 2013 and said: “Reaching 250 matches for this club is a great achievement for me.
“I’m certainly showing my age now with the number of games I have under my belt.
“I’ve been privileged to play for a number of years now, and I’ve been very well supported by the club and the fans.
“The testimonial is going really well. I’ve got a great committee who are organising a lot of things.
“At the end of it, I will be making a donation to Dementia UK, a charity I hold very close to my heart.”
Having hosted Workington, Barrow visit Dewsbury on Sunday, and coach Paul Crarey says there’s plenty to play for after the disappointment of missing out on a final following Featherstone’s 46-6 win at the Matt Johnson Prestige Stadium.
“Featherstone have put a lot of resources into their squad, and we’re not at their level yet,” reflected Crarey.
“We went through the middle, where they are really strong, a bit too much in the second half, and lacked some composure and structure.
“Rather than trying to score off every set, which you aren’t going to do against a team like Featherstone, we needed to try to build a bit of pressure.
“There are things to learn, and we’ll aim to do that while building on the decent start we have made to the season.”
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BRADFORD BULLS have appointed Jason Hirst as chief executive.
The lifelong supporter was already a member of the club’s advisory board as youth and Academy director.
Now Hirst, who has been a familiar face around the community game in Bradford for more than 40 years, will increase his involvement, although still on a voluntary basis.
“He has recently taken early retirement, which allows him to dedicate more time to the club,” said Chairman Nigel Wood.
“He has absolutely the right credentials to support our hardworking but small executive team.
“Jason is a lifelong fan, the Bulls are his club, but more importantly, he has the management skills to provide day-to-day leadership.
“Like all the board, he will remain a volunteer, and is an integral part of the club’s future.”
Hirst explained: “Having just retired from paid employment, I am delighted to be able to commit more time to the club, on a voluntary, full-time basis.
“As a passionate fan for almost 50 years, I am looking forward to making a bigger leadership contribution and giving more to the club, the sport and the city I love.
“The club has a loyal and hardworking team of staff, both paid and unpaid, and I look forward to working more closely alongside them as we continue on our journey to restoring former glories.
“Bradford Bulls are an iconic brand and absolutely key to a successful future for the city.
“I promise our loyal and greatly-appreciated supporters that the club and I will continue to do everything possible in our quest to bring sustainable future success.”
Currently under the control of interim coach Mark Dunning, Bradford are at home to Newcastle on Saturday, having hosted York in round eleven of the Championship.
“I’ve been delighted by the reaction of the players. I have had so much support,” said Dunning, who stepped up from his role as assistant coach after John Kear parted company with the Bulls last month.
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LEIGH CENTURIONS forward Kai O’Donnell says he’s excited at the prospect of figuring in a final just six weeks after playing his first match in the UK.
The Australian, who made four NRL appearances for Canberra Raiders and spent time at Gold Coast Titans and Cronulla Sharks, was an April addition by ambitious Leigh and made his debut at Widnes on Good Friday.
The 36-6 success was one of nine wins in ten league games for Adrian Lam’s side, who head to Batley for a Premier Sports-televised clash tonight (Monday, May 15).
The Centurions are also through the final of the 1895 Cup, and face Featherstone, seen by most as their major rivals for promotion to Super League, at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday week, May 28 in a curtain-raiser for the Challenge Cup Final between Wigan and Huddersfield.
Brisbane-born backrower O’Donnell, 23, was a try-scorer in the 30-12 semi-final win at home to Sheffield and filled in at hooker when Edwin Ipape was yellow-carded for a late tackle.
It’s Leigh’s first final since 2014, when they beat Featherstone 36-12 in the 2014 Championship Grand Final at Headingley (they also featured in the 2017 Million Pound Game, losing 26-10 at home to Catalans to miss out on a place in Super League).
And O’Donnell said: “It’s exciting, because from talking to various people, I know how much getting there means to the club and the fans.
“We made it hard for ourselves with the way we started against Sheffield, but we showed some resilience and got there in the end.
“We worked hard defensively and only conceded only the one try but gave away a lot of penalties and we need to improve in that area, which we will try to do.
“I can’t wait for the final and to try and bring the trophy back to Leigh.”
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SHEFFIELD EAGLES utility Jason Bass says variety is the spice of life as he targets a place in the team when the club returns to its home city next Monday (May 23).
Mark Aston’s men face Widnes in a Premier Sports-televised clash at their new Olympic Legacy Park stadium.
It will be Sheffield’s 16th game of the campaign in all competitions, with three of four ‘home’ fixtures to date taking place at Featherstone and the other at Doncaster, where the club played for the whole of last season.
Bass, signed from York during the close-season, was at fullback in the 34-6 league loss at Leigh and operated as a winger in the 30-12 cup defeat.
“It’s been good,” said the 26-year-old ex-England Students international, who has also been at Coventry Bears (now Midlands Hurricanes).
“It’s interesting to change positions, you have to take on a different mindset for each, and it’s nice to get that variation.
“I pride myself on being able to play anywhere, and I’ll do my best to do a job wherever I’m put.
“I’m just happy that Tubbs (Aston) and the rest of the coaches are confident to put me in there when they need to.”
Bass hailed the improvement over the two games against Leigh, explaining: “It was a good feeling to run them so close.
“I thought we were outstanding, but we suffered a few injuries and just ran out of juice.
“I don’t think it gets said enough, but we have some of the toughest middles in the division.
“They work so hard, because we ask them to do a lot of defending as well as their fair share in attack as we like to throw the ball around.”
Second rower Liam Johnson, 25, a close-season arrival from Doncaster, has ended his second spell with the Eagles by mutual consent. He is to join the fire service.
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WIDNES VIKINGS have transferred highly-rated prop Tyler Dupree to Salford but signed experienced Josh Johnson from the Super League club on a deal that runs until the end of 2023.
And they have also recruited Featherstone’s former Wigan and Leigh frontrower Callum Field for the remainder of this campaign.
Leeds product Dupree, 23, was a close-season signing from Oldham, with whom he won the Championship Young Player of the Year award last season.
“We secured Tyler’s signing for the 2022 season amid considerable interest from both Championship and Super League clubs,” explained Widnes in a statement.
“Tyler has always held the ambition of playing full-time at Super League level, which the club was aware of prior to signing him.
“After a promising start to the season, he had agreed to join Salford Red Devils for 2023.
“The opportunity arose to sign Josh (Johnson) for the remainder of this season, such was the decision to allow Tyler to join Salford early and with immediate effect.”
Johnson, 27, started his career at hometown Huddersfield, and played for Hull KR and Barrow before joining Salford during the 2019 season.
He is nearing 150 career appearances, and the Widnes statement added: “Josh’s arrival provides stability for the club in the forwards for the remainder of this season and next, and his experience will be key to supporting our promising young forwards, who will benefit from playing and training alongside him.
“With some of our more experienced forwards missing through injury for large parts of the season so far, Josh’s arrival will fill that gap and provide some size and aggression in the middle of the pack.”
Widnes, who are under the interim leadership of Ryan O’Brien following Simon Finnigan’s departure as coach last month, went into their home clash with Whitehaven on the back of six straight league defeats.
They face Sheffield in front of the Premier Sports cameras on Monday week, May 23.
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WORKINGTON TOWN have bolstered their fight against relegation by bringing in three loanees – experienced prop Glenn Riley from Whitehaven and young Hull KR duo Will Tate and Tom Wilkinson.
Versatile Perry Singleton has been loaned from Workington to Whitehaven for the same four weeks as Riley’s spell at Derwent Park.
Tate, 20, is a utility back who has already made two appearances for Workington this season as well as one for Dewsbury, who are dual-registration partners of the Super League club.
Backrower Wilkinson, 19, has caught the eye in Rovers’ Under-19s and Reserves and, like Tate, his loan is for an initial two weeks and started with the derby at Barrow and will also take in Sunday’s game at Leigh.
Tate featured at fullback in the Dewsbury team that lost 44-0 at Leigh last month.
By switching to Town, former Warrington and London Broncos player Riley, 30, will complete the ‘set’ of Cumbrian clubs, having spent two seasons at Barrow in between spells at hometown Whitehaven.
Singleton, 28, also completes the treble with his switch the other way.
Meanwhile, Workington coach Chris Thorman is hoping twins Connor and Curtis Davies can continue to cause double trouble to their forthcoming opponents.
The forwards, both Wales internationals, have joined after playing for Villeneuve in the French Elite One competition and made debuts in the narrow 16-10 defeat by Batley at Derwent Park.
The Davies duo, who are 25, started out at Halifax, where they graduated from the Reserves to make their first-team debuts in 2018.
They have each played three times for Wales and represented the country in the 2019 World Cup Nines in Australia.
“They’re both utility forwards, which will give us some versatility in the pack,” said Thorman.
“They are really enthusiastic to carry on contributing to the group and I’m looking forward to seeing what they’re capable of.”
Town also have 19-year-old Warrington fullback Luke Broadbent on loan.
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BATLEY BULLDOGS have loaned forward Nyle Flynn to Oldham, adding to the list of their players operating in League One.
The 24-year-old former Leeds, Hunslet and Dewsbury prop, who made 19 appearances last season, is fit again after a knee injury.
The deal is for the rest of the season, although Batley, chasing a play-off place for the second successive season and in home action against Leigh in a Premier Sports-televised clash tonight (Monday, May 16), have a 48-hour recall clause.
Loose-forward Louis Collinson, who came through the Castleford Academy before joining the Bulldogs this close-season, has extended his stay at Cornwall for the reminder of the campaign.
Ex-Leeds Academy hooker Oli Burton is on similar terms at Hunslet, where his father Danny played, while prop Toby Everett is playing at Keighley.
Collinson and Burton won the respective man-of-the-match awards when their sides clashed in round seven of the League One competition earlier this month. Hunslet won the game 52-16.
“We’re quite well off numbers-wise and these lads need game time,” said coach Craig Lingard.
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DEWSBURY RAMS coach Lee Greenwood has taken Aidan McGowan on loan from Huddersfield in a move to solve his fullback problem.
The Yorkshire club is missing Calum Turner, their close-season signing from Newcastle, because of an ankle injury that needed surgery.
The 23-year-old Castleford product last played in February’s home defeat by Widnes.
In the eight matches between then and Dewsbury’s home clash with Featherstone, Greenwood has fielded four different players in the position.
Halfback Jake Sweeting (once), centre Davey Dixon (four times) and dual-registration Hull KR duo Phoenix Laulu-Togaga’e (twice) and Will Tate have all featured.
McGowan, 20, is an England and Ireland Academy international who played three times on loan at York last season.
“While our dual-registration with Hull KR can help for one-off games, we’ve been looking for a more regular solution, and Aidan impressed me when he was at York,” explained Greenwood, whose side host Barrow on Sunday.
“He has been injured but has played a few Reserve games and looks back to full fitness.”
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HALIFAX PANTHERS coach Simon Grix wants his players to add some polish to their performances as they push for another play-off appearance.
The Yorkshire side reached last season’s semi-finals, losing at Featherstone, since when the squad has been restructured.
Halifax lost four of their opening five league games but went into their home game against Sheffield on the back of five successive wins.
However Grix, whose team go to York on Sunday, was frustrated by the way his side, having scored five tries in the opening half-hour at Newcastle, tapered off as they completed a 30-10 victory.
“Overall, we’ve been doing a good job,” he said.
“But against Newcastle, it was only just a good job. We could have done better.
“Although Newcastle played quite a spirited game, they had a lack of cohesion with the number of changes they had in their team.
“We had an opportunity to do a job on them but didn’t take it. Hopefully it’s a learning curve.”
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LONDON BRONCOS prop Lewis Bienek is enjoying being back at the capital club and he is targeting a climb up the table.
The Sidcup-born 24-year-old started out at the Broncos before joining Hull FC in 2018, then Castleford ahead of the 2021 campaign.
He was re-signed by London over the close-season, and helped them gain a first league win, 36-12 at home to Dewsbury, earlier this month.
The Broncos go to Batley, where Bienek had a loan stint in 2019, on Sunday, and he said: “We didn’t have the start to the season we hoped for.
“It was frustrating to come so close on a number of occasions, but we learned valuable lessons from it, and our win against Dewsbury showed what we are made of.”
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NEWCASTLE THUNDER are working to get companies to join their ongoing support of the LGBTQ+ community.
The club is seeking sponsors for their ‘Magic Friday’ fixture against Bradford Bulls on July 8.
The Kingston Park clash, to be screened live by Premier Sports, is the unofficial curtain-raiser for Super League’s Magic Weekend at Newcastle United’s St James’ Park.
With fans of top-flight team flocking to the city, Thunder are hoping for a bumper attendance against Bradford, the opposition when the club’s Kingston Park record gate of 4,137 was set in 2018.
Magic Weekend ticket holders are being offered £5 admission to the Thunder-Bulls game, which is being staged in partnership with the Northern Pride festival, which takes place in Newcastle from July 22-24.
It’s the 50th anniversary of the first Pride march in London and Thunder will wear a one-off kit against Bradford, whom they also play at Odsal on Saturday.
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WHITEHAVEN director Ashley Kilpatrick says Perry Singleton has long been on the club’s radar.
The versatile Workington player is spending a month at the LEL Arena, with prop Glenn Riley having gone the other way in a ‘loan swap’.
Like Riley, the 28-year-old former Barrow man, who is the younger brother of Wigan prop Brad Singleton, will complete the ‘set’ of Cumbrian clubs.
He originally joined Workington in 2017 from amateur club Barrow Island, having captained Cumbria’s open-age team and toured South Africa with the BARLA Lions in 2015.
After spending the truncated 2020 season at Barrow, he returned to Workington ahead of the 2021 campaign and featured in the promotion-clinching play-off finale win over Doncaster.
But he has been out of the picture recently, and Kilpatrick explained: “We’re delighted to have Perry for a month.
“He can play at backrow or centre, which gives us that versatility.
“I’ve always rated him, from watching him play for Cumbria and even more so since he made the step up to the professional game.
“He’s tough, aggressive, strong and enthusiastic. He likes to get off the line and can put a shot on someone in defence.”
Whitehaven’s game at Featherstone has been brought forward by 24 hours to Saturday (5.30pm).
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YORK CITY KNIGHTS halfback Liam Harris believes the recent blank weekend due to the Challenge and 1895 Cup semi-finals came at a good time for James Ford’s play-off chasers.
They went into their game at Bradford seeking a seventh straight league win and ninth in eleven after a 30-18 success at Barrow in front of the Premier Sports television cameras.
“The Barrow game meant a long trip on a Monday night, and it was a tough game, which took a bit out of us,” said the 25-year-old former Hull and Hull KR man, who will be looking forward to facing another of his former clubs Halifax at the LNER Stadium on Sunday.
“It was good to get a bit of downtime after a busy period, and some of the lads had a weekend away, so should be nice and refreshed and ready for some more physical contests.
Close-season signing Harris was hailed for his try-saving challenge on centre Ryan Shaw at Barrow.
“It was probably the only tackle of my career,” he smiled.
“It’s an all-round defensive effort, and we have a team ethos that we don’t stop working until the 80 minutes are done. I think that showed.”
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