CORNWALL have called for established Rugby League players to consider approaching the club, after securing three players to contracts in the aftermath of their open trial.
Joe Purcell, a former Wigan Warriors academy fullback or stand-off, has committed to moving to Cornwall after impressing at the trial two weeks ago.
Irish prop Paul Bolger, who featured for West Wales Raiders last season, has also signed a deal, along with Truro-born Kyle Johns, a rugby union player who previously played some Rugby League at university level.
Cornwall head coach Neil Kelly says that offers have been sent out to “one or two” other players who featured in the open trial, while more have been invited to come back for further sessions.
However Kelly, who plans to be situated in the county from this week and “start training in earnest” once there, said Cornwall still wanted a combination of local talent and more experienced players from up north.
“I think we’re going to need the northern-based players,” he said. “I’m in no way thinking we can get by on Cornish-based players.
“I’d appeal to anybody that’s not signed up with a club already, that thinks they can get over the obvious obstacles of being down in Cornwall.
“Finding somewhere to work is not a problem, finding somewhere to live is not a problem, it’s just the travelling really.
“I’d encourage any northern-based players to get in touch either with the club or with myself.
“I would have thought, especially for younger lads, being based in Cornwall is the nearest thing to Australia that we’ve got in England.
“I think it’s a great place to play and keep yourself in that professional environment.”
+++++
KEIGHLEY COUGARS head coach Rhys Lovegrove believes his side’s Challenge Cup clash with Hunslet will give him the perfect chance to see how his preparations are going for the season ahead.
The two sides will both hope to be in the League 1 promotion mix over the coming year and have an early chance to measure themselves and when they go head-to-head this weekend looking to secure a place in the third round of the knockout competition.
“It does help us coming up against a side in our own league in the cup, and I’m sure Hunslet say the same,“ said Lovegrove.
“It is probably the best fixture we could have asked for.
“To get the chance to travel to an away fixture is a good challenge for us and it gets the boys out of their comfort zones nice and early in the year.
“To play against a team that was in the play-offs last year and have hopes of doing really well this year is going to be a really good indication to where we are and how we’re going ahead of the season.
“I always look forward to games against Hunslet and I know the players are excited as well.
“Hopefully we’ll see some good quality rugby as well.“
Meanwhile, Keighley claim they have become the first sports club in the world to commit to planting a tree for every shirt the club sells this season.
The club unveiled their new kit last week, features a leaf motif complete with the slogan ‘There is no planet B’.
“Everyone knows there are huge benefits to planting trees, and this is a way for our club and our fans to play a part in the fight against climate change,” said Keighley co-owner Ryan O’Neill.
+++++
NORTH WALES CRUSADERS winger Declan Kay has stepped away from rugby due to a shoulder injury and won’t be part of this season’s squad.
Kay, 25, had only signed for the club in October after taking a season out of the sport, but has been advised to retire on medical grounds.
“He’s been forced to retire through an injury to his shoulder which happened a while ago,” said Crusaders head coach Anthony Murray.
“He went for a routine check-up on his shoulder and the specialist said that he needs to finish playing really.”
Kay made 47 appearances across three seasons at Rochdale Hornets before playing for Oldham, first on loan at the end of 2019 to help them gain promotion to the Championship and then permanently for the following Covid-hit campaign, featuring 10 times for Roughyeds.
Meanwhile, Murray says North Wales will have to be at their best to get past Leigh Miners Rangers in the Challenge Cup.
Murray’s men head to the amateur side this week for their first competitive game of the season and the boss is expecting a real test having been at their opponent’s first-round victory over Milford.
“Leigh Miners is a club steeped in tradition and success over the years,” he said. “There are quite a few players in there who could potentially play League 1 level.
‘I watched them against Milford and Miners were losing for large parts of the game but managed to come back in the end and snatch a result. For me that shows a team that are committed.
“It’s a community club’s Grand Final and a massive day out for them. We’re certainly going to have to be at our best to make sure we get through to the next round. Nothing but our best will be enough to beat Leigh Miners.”
They will be without their club record try scorer, however, with Tommy Johnson currently out with a knee injury.
+++++
SWINTON LIONS will head to West Wales Raiders this weekend spurred on by a positive pre-season showing against Salford Red Devils which drew praise from the Super League side’s head coach.
Allan Coleman saw his side beaten 48-12 by near neighbours Salford at the AJ Bell Stadium but he was largely pleased with their performance against full-time opposition, in the first of their two friendlies along with yesterday’s (Sunday) tie with Whitehaven.
“We competed for long periods of the game against a Super League side,” said Coleman. “We played all 21 players who were available for us on that day so we gave everyone a run
“Speaking with Paul Rowley afterwards, he was quite impressed with us. He said you’re a good side.
“So I was really pleased with where we were on our first hit-up.”
Swinton travel to perennial League 1 strugglers West Wales for their second-round Challenge Cup tie but Coleman says his players will need to be as on their game as against higher-league opposition.
“I think it’s important we take it as important as we did the Salford one and the Whitehaven one,” said the Lions boss.
“I’ve no doubt they’ll be quite big, strong and physical. We’ve just got to focus on giving 100 per cent.”
Swinton will be without centre Liam Forsyth and new hooker Matty Wilkinson for the cup clash through injury, with both aiming to be fit for the start of the league campaign.
Meanwhile, winger Reece Hamlett has been released from his contract to focus on work commitments, though will stay in the game with Rochdale Mayfield.
+++++
DONCASTER coach Richard Horne is confident his side will be ready for league action despite a less than ideal pre-season.
The South Yorkshire club have only had one pre-season game so far against Castleford Tigers, and will get their Challenge Cup campaign underway against Thornhill Trojans this weekend.
Horne will be hoping for victory in that game – against opposition who gave them a major scare in the competition two years ago – to give his squad some more game time ahead of the league opener against Midlands Hurricanes on March 27.
“Ideally we’d like to have a decent cup run so that we’re getting more game time leading up to the start of the season in March,“ said Horne.
“If we can do that, that would be fantastic, if not we’ll just train with intensity as best as we can and as close to game level as possible so that we are ready for that Midlands game.
“By the time we know where we are with the cup we’d only really be able to arrange friendlies against other League 1 clubs because the other leagues will have started.
“Ideally you want to play higher league opposition in pre-season, plus you don’t want to show your cards too early against teams you’ll be playing throughout the year.
“It’ll be tough because we’re not keen on friendlies against League 1 clubs because we have a long season ahead against those teams.
“The league season is still a couple of months away and we have some hard work to do, but the lads are all looking forward to getting back underway.”
+++++
HUNSLET boss Alan Kilshaw says “it’s better the devil you know” as he takes the positives out of a challenging cup draw against Keighley Cougars.
His side will start their season this weekend with a home tie against one of the favourites for promotion out of League 1.
“We’re at home and it’s a side we know about,” said Kilshaw, whose only doubt for the game is new outside back Jack Render with an ankle injury.
“Sometimes a team can bring unknowns and you can come unstuck so at least it’s better the devil you know really.
“We’ve had a big turnover of players so it’s going to be our first hit-out. The lads know what’s expected of them.
“I won’t be expecting us to be the finished article by any means but there are areas I’ll expect to be good – the effort areas, the kick chase, the line speed, how we want to play.
“We need to be doing what we’re training at the minute and that will hopefully help get the result.”
The club started pre-season training in November but with the league season not starting for another two months, Kilshaw knows his team will still be developing.
“We’re not going to tweak (our training) too much because the bigger picture is the season starting in March,” he said. “But we do want to win cup games as well so it’s just finding the right balance.
“They’re the League 1 favourites, but they’re in the same position as us so it’ll be two teams in a similar condition.”
+++++
LONDON SKOLARS recruit Shane Hurley is excited to be part of a new-look team in 2022.
The Skolars have lost their head coach and a number of players to neighbours London Broncos ahead of the season, with Joe Mbu returning as boss and making seven confirmed signings so far.
Hurley, a former Hemel Stags player in the Southern Conference League, is the latest to join having earned a deal after spending time at the club on trial, and the outside back is looking forward to taking part in League 1.
“This new-build London Skolars squad excites me and I am proud to be a part of it,” said Hurley.
“The competition in League 1 this year will be great.
“I am coming out of the Southern England Lionhearts programme and feel that this will be a great challenge going forward.”
Meanwhile, Skolars are looking ahead to a London derby this weekend in the Challenge Cup, welcoming London Chargers to the New River Stadium in the second round.
The Chargers pulled off an upset to beat Ellenborough Rangers in round one, and will be the first opposition of any kind for Skolars this season as their proposed friendly with the Broncos in the ‘Capital Challenge’ was cancelled.
+++++
MIDLANDS HURRICANES coach Richard Squires believes they couldn’t have been handed a much tougher draw in the Challenge Cup.
The Hurricanes start their first competitive season since rebranding with a trip to Rochdale Hornets on Sunday, January 30, in the knockout competition.
Even though defeat in that game could lead to a two-month gap before playing again, Squires will approach it with caution.
“We’ve probably got the toughest draw of the lot,” said Squires.
“But it will be great preparation though and a great chance to test ourselves against one of the leading clubs in our league.
“They have kept all the big boys on, in Rangi, Fui and Penkywicz and Gary Thornton has come in as assistant coach so will have added a wealth of experience too, so it’ll be a tough test.
“But we’ll just worry about ourselves. As much as want to get through, I’m not going to risk anyone.
“We have got a few guys still recovering from surgery, so anyone who isn’t 100 per cent won’t be risked with such a long pre-season and season ahead of us.”
+++++
OLDHAM head coach Stuart Littler is hoping that a varied pre-season will bring rewards when their season gets underway this weekend.
Roughyeds will host amateur side Lock Lane, who pulled off an upset win over Thatto Heath Crusaders, in the second round of the Challenge Cup.
It will be a first competitive game in charge for Littler following their friendly against Wakefield Trinity, and his arrival has been far from the only change with no fewer than 21 new players brought in.
As a result, Littler has put a strong focus on his squad bonding through pre-season, including a hike up Mount Snowdon in December and more recently a tough session at Farmer Strong, run by former Commonwealth Games wrestler Charlie Bowling.
“He challenged the lads and put them in comfortable positions,” said Littler. “They had different challenges throughout the day so we sort of broke the group down and put them back together.
“It was a really good session, which finished with a barbecue for the boys. It’s building that togetherness.
“We’ve had to think outside the box a little bit because we’ve got more or less a brand new team.
“Only seven players stayed at the club last year and it is a new head coach, new systems, new structures, and the majority are new players.
“We’ve had to hit the ground running on building relationships and nurturing that togetherness, to put us in the best place possible.
“There’s no doubt that at times through the year we’re going to be faced with some adversity and we need to stick together, persevere and fight through that.”
He added: “We’ve gone to boxing gyms, we’ve done some wrestling, we’ve climbed Snowdon, we’ve been on a farm.
“We’ve taken them out of the comfort zone and challenged the lads, and tried to build some team spirit. They’re getting to know each other.”
Meanwhile, Oldham have announced their squad numbers for the 2022 season:
1 Owen Restall, 2 Tommy Brierley, 3 Will Cooke, 4 Calvin Wellington, 5 Ben Holcroft, 6 Martyn Ridyard, 7 Dave Hewitt, 8 Luke Nelmes, 9 Brad Jinks, 10 Tom Spencer, 11 Jason Muranka, 12 Callum Cameron, 13 Emmerson Whittel, 14 Sean Slater, 15 Jordan Andrade, 16 James Thornton, 17 Jack Coventry, 18 Joe Hartley, 19 Dom Newton, 20 David Mills, 22 Liam Copland, 23 Kian Morgan, 24 Ethan Ferry, 25 Jamie Pye, 26 Ryan Wright.
+++++
ROCHDALE HORNETS chairman Andy Mazey hopes that the BBC’s coverage of their Challenge Cup game against Midlands Hurricanes this Sunday might draw in a few old supporters.
The all-League 1 second-round tie will be shown live on the BBC iPlayer and website as part of the broadcaster’s coverage of the early rounds of the competition.
Mazey sees their coverage only as a positive and believes the exposure could bring benefits.
“People within our borough might tune in for the first time in a while,” he said. “They (might) have not been to a Hornets game and think ‘I might go along and watch them next week’.
“And further afield, it’s an opportunity for people who might not be engaged with the club as closely as they once were, they might choose to sign up as a club member, buy some merchandise or support the club in some way.”
Rochdale are expecting a challenging task against Midlands, who will be playing their first competitive match since rebranding.
“It’ll be a tough game,” said Mazey. “We played them in their previous guise as Coventry twice last year and they turned us over in Coventry, so we’re fully expecting and preparing for a really tough encounter.
“They’re a well-coached outfit, it’s the same coach and many of the same players who were there last year so we’re expecting a really tough game of Rugby League.
“Certainly, after last year’s experiences of League 1, we wouldn’t look past anybody.”
+++++
WEST WALES RAIDERS chief executive Peter Tiffin hopes that this weekend’s Challenge Cup tie is the start of a season of growth in the club’s support.
Crowd restrictions that were in place across all levels of sport in Wales over the Christmas period have been lifted just in time for the season opener at Stebonheath Park.
Fellow League 1 side Swinton Lions provide the opposition in the second round of the knockout competition and will likely add to the home numbers at Llanelli for the game.
“Last year our average was three to four hundred,” said Tiffin of a season which began behind closed doors.
“When we had that Challenge Cup game against Widnes we had big names like Gavin Henson and Rangi Chase playing and there could have been a thousand there.
“If we can get three or four hundred I’d be happy with that just to start off, and then build throughout the season.
“There is a lot of interest in the area, every year it grows and grows, but our attendances are something we need to push on further, because an average of 400 is not good enough for the amount of people that could come and watch. We cover a lot of Wales.”
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.