SO often when a coach is facing his first full season in charge the temptation is to stamp his own mark on the side and make big changes. But Mark Dunning, who arrived at Midlands Hurricanes in May, has done no such thing.
Instead, he has kept a very familiar look to the side that under his leadership, won three out of their final nine games, which included impressive results over Oldham (18-10) and Doncaster (41-10).
Of the 11 new signings that have arrived at Alexander Stadium to add to the 13 retained players, five – Jason Bass, Courage Mkhulani, Ross Oakes, Jake Sweeting and Aaron Willis – all featured for Dunning’s side at some stage last season on loan, or similar deals, making a total of 22 appearances between them.
They will be hoping that this level of consistency will allow them to hit the ground running after a difficult 1895 Cup run.
Watch out for… NEW signing Dave Hewitt has joined on a two-year deal from Rochdale Hornets to offer some stability in the halves. With experience at Oldham and Sheffield as well, he is someone who can lead the team around the field with a level head and someone coach Mark Dunning will be keen to build his team around.
2024 squad: 1 Todd Horner, 2 Max Kirkbright, 3 Matty Welham, 4 Ross Oakes, 5 Jason Bass, 6 Jake Sweeting, 7 Dave Hewitt, 8 Jon Luke Kirby, 9 Danny Barcoe, 10 Sam Bowring, 11 Tom Wilkinson, 12 Liam Welham, 13 Brad Clavering, 14 Brad Billsborough, 15 Aaron Willis, 16 Ellis Hobson, 17 Kieran Moran, 18 Elliott Windley, 19 Chris Cullimore, 20 Owen Maull, 21 Courage Mkhulani, 22 Mekhi Bridgeman-Reaney, 23 Callum McLelland, 24 Marcus Green, 25 Inoke Nakoronivalu, 26 Joe Varo, 27 Peceli Suguvanua, 28 Wame Ratubalavu.
Rugby League World predicts: 7th
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 494 (March 2024)
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