NORTH WALES CRUSADERS back Greg Eden says he fancies the team’s chances of doing well this season after he gave up on a switch to rugby union for another year in the Championship.
Now 35, the former Castleford and Hull KR man spent 2025 at Hunslet as they struggled in the old-style Championship.
He has linked back up with coach Dean Muir, who having left the Yorkshire club mid-season, took over at Colwyn Bay following the departure of Carl Forster after he guided Crusaders to the League One title.
Eden’s move came after an aborted attempt to switch codes, meaning he is in his 16th season in professional Rugby League.
“I had a little bit of time in rugby union training with Rotherham Titans in the off-season and I couldn’t get to grips with it,” he said.
“I thought I’d give it one more year in League and see how it goes. I reached out to Dean to see if there was something there for me and I’m happy to link back up with him.
“I like the way he coaches and he likes the style of player I am.
“The way the Championship is set out, I don’t think anybody understands how it’s working, but we are fancying ourselves to do well. This club’s playing group has surprised me. It’s a lot better than I thought it was going to be.
“There’s definitely a vibe around the club, you can tell this group of players have been winning and even though there have been changes, they’ve definitely carried that over and it feels good at the minute.”
North Wales are yet to start their Championship campaign as the first weekend was a bye round for them. Their opener is at Widnes on Sunday.
They have been boosted by the news that their replacement fixtures following the departure of Featherstone from the team list will be against Salford, with the home game on Sunday, May 31 and the reverse fixture on Sunday, July 5.
Eden made 15 appearances for Featherstone in 2024, and he hopes to see them back on the calendar in 2027.
He added: “It’s not nice to see, they are such a historic club. More for the fans than anything, to have to see your club not entering the league is terrible. Hopefully they can get back on their feet and get back in next year, because it would be such a shame to lose them completely.”