Having served a doping ban, a regretful Jamie Dallimore is back in rugby league and aiming to rebuild his reputation with North Wales Crusaders.
IT IS October 2021, and Jamie Dallimore receives a knock on the door from UK Anti-Doping testers requiring him to give an out-of-competition sample.
The stand-off does not think he has anything to worry about, but just under two months later it is announced he has been banned for three years due to traces of prohibited substance clenbuterol, from a fat-burner he took playing amateur football during rugby league’s off-season, being found in his sample
Dallimore immediately admitted to the offence in an act of contrition that reduced his initial four-year suspension by twelve months, although even then it might have seemed from the outside that his rugby career was over.
However, he has since made his comeback with former club North Wales Crusaders after serving his time and is determined to make amends.
“It’s my bad, it’s naïve from me,” Dallimore told Rugby League World. “I didn’t think I was going to get tested because I was out of competition and didn’t realise I was cheating at the time, but when I look back at it I was cheating because I was trying to lose weight the wrong way.
“It was a wrong turn at the wrong time and I suppose if you play silly games, you win silly prizes. I got what I deserved, I owned up to it and took it on the chin. It’s probably the biggest regret I’ll have in my life, but I’ll live and learn.
“I served the punishment and I just wanted to come back and do the best I could for myself and my family.”
Few players are able to make a successful comeback after three years out of the professional game, let alone doing so at the age of 36, yet Dallimore always had it in his mind that he would return, even though he announced his retirement on social media shortly before his ban was made public.
His inspiration to one day pull on the rugby boots once again was his youngest son, who had yet to see him lighting up the field in a way which made him a fan favourite during his spells with hometown club Oldham, North Wales and Barrow Raiders.
“Because of the backlash I was going to get in a couple of months’ time when it was released, I just thought if I could sail away into the sunset then nobody would remember Jamie Dallimore and I could deal with it that way, because I was down and I was low,” he said. “But I knew I’d be back.
“If there are pictures around the house [of playing rugby] and the little lad asks questions and I have to give him the not-so-nice answers, it would have killed me.
“I knew I’d be back and I didn’t know if it would be semi-pro or amateur, but I wanted to finish my career the right way with a bit of pride.
“I don’t know what the future holds, but I feel fit, I feel energetic and the fire still burns, so I’ll keep turning up and see what I can do.”
If that fateful October day was when it all came crashing down, then 26th January was the start of the redemption arc as Dallimore played his first competitive match since his suspension finished, helping the Crusaders to a 52-0 win over fellow Betfred League One side Cornwall in the Betfred Challenge Cup second round.
He had initially pursued a return to Barrow, where he was part of two promotion-wining teams and the 2017 League One Cup triumph during a five-year stay at Craven Park, but after that did not transpire, a game of golf with old North Wales teammate turned club CEO Andy Moulsdale led to his Crusaders comeback.
Although much has changed since Dallimore last pulled on a North Wales shirt in 2016, with the club now based in Colwyn Bay rather than Wrexham and under the ownership of the Eggchaser Group, in some ways it feels like he has never been away.
There is another familiar face at the club as head coach in his ex-Barrow team-mate Carl Forster too. However, that does not mean he is guaranteed a start, particularly with the experienced Jordy Gibson back at North Wales after two seasons with Swinton Lions and 21-year-old prospect Toby Hughes competing for a place as well.
Dallimore is enjoying serving as something as a mentor to former England Community Lions international Hughes by giving him the benefit of his experience though, along with relishing the competition.
“I’ve never played in a team where, coming into selection, I’ve had to worry about being picked,” Dallimore said.
“It’s been healthy that I’ve had to fight for where I’m at today rather than it being handed to me on a plate because now the fire burns that little bit more every week.”
His previous stint with North Wales saw Dallimore taste plenty of glory, being part of the team which claimed the League One title in 2013 and become the first winners of the League One Cup two years later.
Talking with Forster and seeing the squad he was building for the 2025 campaign left Dallimore with a feeling the current crop of Crusaders players can achieve success too, and he is optimistic this second act of his career will bring a happy ending – and, most importantly, on his own terms.
“We had a good group of blokes who did something special [in 2013] and to finish my career that way, North Wales is where I want to be,” Dallimore said.
“The fans were brilliant with me even when I left, so it just felt right.
“I said when I got banned, everything happens for a reason – good or bad. Maybe this is the light at the end of the tunnel where everything has happened for a reason.”
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 507 (April 2025)
