HUNSLET have found the perfect replacement for Frazer Morris after bringing in Kieran Moran, who was recently released from his contract at Keighley Cougars.
The Scotland international requested the move away from Cougar Park in a bid to get some more game time and push for a spot in the Bravehearts squad for the World Cup.
That request was granted and once Hunslet coach Alan Kilshaw heard of his availability he acted to quickly to bring in the necessary replacement for Morris, who will miss the whole season after suffering a back injury at work.
“Since we lost Frazer in pre-season, we’ve been looking for an experienced middle to add to the squad,” explained Kilshaw.
“However, we didn’t want to rush into it and have been waiting for someone of Kieran’s quality to become available.
“Once we knew he was leaving Keighley, we acted quickly, as we weren’t the only team in for him. He knows he’s coming into an environment with a good group, and he will develop here.
“We are supportive of his goals to play in the World Cup for Scotland and are keen to give him a platform to showcase his talents.”
Morris went straight into the squad to face Rochdale on Sunday, but Kilshaw was without Dave Gibbons and Joe Summers, who both picked up shoulder injuries in the draw against Oldham.
“Gibbo’s injury may not be as bad as first feared, his shoulder popped out and went in again,” added Kilshaw.
“But Joe Summers is seeing a specialist. This is the third or fourth time his shoulder has gone in a game and it needs looking at properly.”
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LONDON SKOLARS returned to action against North Wales Crusaders on Saturday, but they did so without suspended fullback Richard Wilkinson.
The 28-year-old was handed a two-match ban following a dangerous throw in the opening day game against Hunslet and Skolars coach Joe Mbu admits his presence was missed.
“It is definitely a blow to lose him,” said Mbu.
“Richard is a great player for us and has a great attitude. He’s a big voice in the team and changing room, so losing someone like that for a couple of weeks is tough.
“But we need to know how to deal with things like that. We have a squad of players for this reason and we need to take it on the chin and manage it the best we can with the players we have available.”
One player who was available, though, was new signing Jonny Bell, who has joined the club permanently following a successful trial.
The hooker joins from Wests Warriors, who have dominated the Southern Conference League for several years. He had a spell at Hemel Stags in 2015.
“Jonny impressed throughout his trial period, with a try-scoring debut in the fixture against Hunslet,” said Mbu.
“He gives us real dynamism from the dummy-half position and creates really good competition for places within the squad.”
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KEIGHLEY COUGARS forward Jake Webster believes enjoying a bye weekend might prove to be a good thing so early in the season.
Having beaten both Oldham and Doncaster in the first two weeks of the season, the Cougars were not in action on Sunday and will return to the field on Friday when they face Hunslet at the South Leeds Stadium.
“We’ve put everything into it the first two games of the season and come up trumps,” said Webster.
“Maybe the bye has come at a good time, because we had a few sore bodies from playing on the 4G pitch at Oldham and then it was a tough test to back that up against Doncaster. It might have led to a downwards spiral if some of those sore bodies had kept playing.
“Having the bye now means we can attack the middle phase of the season now without a break.
“Who knows though, that could prove to be double-edged sword, so we’ll just have to see what happens.
“We had no control over how the draw was made, so we will just handle it the best way we can.”
Elsewhere the club has confirmed that Kieran Moran has been released from the remainder of his contract and has joined League One rivals Hunslet until the end of the year.
The prop, who joined the club in July 2018, wanted to explore options elsewhere in a bid to earn more game time and try and earn a spot in the Scotland squad for this year’s Rugby League World Cup.
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OLDHAM have filled the void left by several injuries by adding three new, young faces to their ranks.
Hookers, 18-year-old Tom Forber and Billy Yarrow, 23, have joined from Wigan Warriors and Dewsbury Celtic respectively. They have been joined by halfback Logan Astley, who has also signed from the Super League club.
Forber and Astley have initially joined on two-week loan deals, while Yarrow is on trial.
“We started off with three hookers, Ryan Wright, Brad Jinks and Sean Slater, but currently we only have Ryan available because of Sean’s knee injury and Brad’s groin damage,” said Oldham coach Stuart Littler.
“Brad and Sean can also play halfback, so the injuries affect us in the halves too and that’s why Logan Astley has come in.
“The arrangement suits both clubs and we thank Wigan for putting their faith in us to look after their bright, young lads, just as we thank Paul Heaton and all the people at Dewsbury Celtic for their assistance with the Billy Yarrow signing.
“Tom and Astley are on the way up at Wigan, there is no doubt about that, and Tom won a man-of-the-match award the other night while playing for Wigan reserves against Bradford.
“As for Billy, he has already impressed us in training and Shez (assistant coach Brendan Sheridan) knows him well. Shez and I have said all along that we are here for the long haul.
“Where we want to go with Oldham won’t happen overnight. We want good players, of course we do, but we also need good people and very often the two go hand in hand.
“Whether we are getting new players for two weeks, for two years or even longer, I want them all to enjoy themselves at Oldham.”
As well as the three new arrivals, there has also been one departure at the club, with young prop Jamie Pye moving on.
The former St Helens forward has taken a new job that involves shift working, which means he can’t attend training sessions.
“Our best wishes go with Jamie, who has always worked hard and been a fully committed member of the squad in his time with us,” added Littler.
“Sometimes we’re selfish in rugby and we expect everyone’s decision to favour the sport, but the reality isn’t always like that. We respect Jamie’s decision and we’ll certainly keep in touch.”
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The importance of a positive performance against Midlands Hurricanes on Sunday was not lost on CORNWALL coach Neil Kelly.
As it was the club’s first home game at the Memorial Ground in Penryn, it was also their first chance to show the locals what they were all about.
Reports last week suggested that more than 1,000 tickets had been sold and Kelly was keen for his side to do all they could to keep those new fans coming back for more.
“Hopefully the performance will make people want to come back every week,” said Kelly, who ultimately saw his side fall to a 62-22 defeat in their first ever game at North Wales Crusaders.
“People need to see 100 per cent commitment from the players, who will be representing Cornwall with pride. If the players do that, we’ll get the passing spectators onside and behind the team, so there was definitely more of an onus on us to have performed on Sunday.
“Obviously we want to do that every week, but it was important this week, given what’s at stake with our first home game.
“There were some massive positives coming out of that first game. I don’t want to lose 62-22 every week, but we can take lots from it and it gave us encouragement that we can improve.
“North Wales always looked comfortable for the victory, but in the future we’ll be looking to improve in our performances and get towards a positive result.”
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After a disrupted season with injury in 2021, ROCHDALE HORNETS’ Gavin Bennion is back to full fitness and doing what he does best on the pitch.
The 28-year-old made just nine appearances for the club last season but was set to make it three from three in 2022 when the Hornets travelled to Hunslet on Sunday.
“It’s a huge boost to have Gavin back out on the field and fit again,” said Hornets Chairman Andy Mazey.
“He had a real stop-start year last year with injury and struggled with another injury at the back end of last year and part of pre-season, but he’s fit now and has come back in and played well
“We signed him from Swinton when I first came into the club and when I offered him to Matt (Calland – head coach) he snapped my hand off, because he knows how good Gavin is.
“In 2019, my last year with Swinton, he was probably one of the best middle players in the Championship, so it’s great to see him back.”
Bennion was joined in the squad to face Hunslet by loanee Ben O’Keefe, who has joined on an initial two-week deal from Wigan Warriors.
The Academy graduate’s father Paul, played for the Hornets in the 1991/92 season alongside current head coach Matt Calland.
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SWINTON LIONS coach Allan Coleman has said he will not be risking any of his players this season if they are not fully fit.
Lewis Hatton and Liam Forsyth remained unavailable for Sunday’s trip to Doncaster and Coleman has said he has enough depth in his squad to offer ample cover for any niggles players may pick up over the season.
“Lewis and Liam are just carrying knocks and niggles,” said Coleman.
“It’s going to be a long season and, with the squad we’ve got, it’s important that we make sure people are 100 per cent fit before we ask them to play.
“Even though we don’t have the full squad available, we are still strong and I am happy with what we’ve got and what we can put out on the field.
“We have the depth to allow players to have time out for minor knocks.
“It’s a bit of a catch-22 situation. You want to be consistent and that comes with doing things the same way and not changing much. But we’ve also got to be smart and that means making sure everyone is 100 per cent, because this competition is going to be tough for us.”
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NORTH WALES CRUSADERS coach Anthony Murray is delighted that his side has already succeeded in one of the early goals he set for them.
The Crusaders lost three of their opening five games last season, and that was not a run Murray was keen to repeat. So wins against Rochdale and Cornwall in the opening fortnight has pleased him, but he will not be resting on his laurels as the season progresses.
“We were coming in and out of the game against Cornwall at times and giving a few penalties away,” said Murray.
“We were a bit hit and miss in that game, so I was pleased to still score 62 points and make it two wins from two to start off with.
“We wanted to start the season better than we did last year and we have done. But the challenge for us now is to maintain that and try to keep working on some areas we need to, to make sure we keep being at the right end of the results and the table.”
Murray’s squad was boosted by the arrival of Jono Smith, who has re-joined the club for the 2022 season.
The 33-year-old made four appearances for the club last season.
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WEST WALES RAIDERS coach Ashley Bateman believes the club’s disrupted preparations could see them become a stronger force later in the year.
The Raiders went into their Challenge Cup game against Swinton in January with virtually no confirmed squad and no coaches, meaning Bateman only had around eight weeks to get a squad in place and prepare them for the new season.
But the coach remains confident that the more time the squad get together the better they will become and they may be able to hit their peak in the latter stages of the season, when other squads are starting to tire.
“We’re behind other clubs because we started so late and so we’re just looking for improvement week on week,” said Bateman.
“It could well mean we’re a bit fresher in the later stages of the season, but it’s a long season and every club will get injuries.
“But it could work out that way for us. If all the boys stick together, it could pay off for us.”
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DONCASTER forward Dean Roberts has said he has already learned a lot from some of the more senior players at the club.
The forward, 25, joined the Dons in February after training with them during pre-season but is now finding his feet his feet in the first team.
“It’s been great and people like Sam Smeaton and Misi Taulapapa are people I can learn from,” said Roberts.
“They’ve had great careers and they drive the standards; we have a good camaraderie within the group but at the same time we know when it’s time to work.
“The lads are always there to lean on and ask for advice, the biggest thing I’ve picked up is how to carry myself off the field.”
Roberts, who played eleven games for Hemel Stags in 2018, their final season in League 1, was joined in the squad to face Swinton on Sunday by Ben Mathiou, who has joined the club on an initial two-week loan from Championship side Featherstone Rovers.
The 26-year-old Australian is the son of former Leeds Rhinos player Jamie Mathiou and only joined Rovers in February.
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MIDLANDS HURRICANES coach Richard Squires admits he was forced into another personnel change ahead of Sunday’s historic trip to Cornwall.
The Hurricanes played their part in the new club’s first home fixture but did so without the services of forward Tyler Walton.
“We lost Tyler to a concussion because he failed a HIA test after the Swinton game,” said Squires.
“And we lost Russ Spiers the week before, so we’re chopping and changing earlier than we wanted to. But we have some depth this year, which helps.”
AJ Boardman also missed out due to a broken hand.
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