THE rebuild at Rochdale continues this year under coach Gary Thornton, who saw his first full season in charge ended prematurely after narrowly missing out on the play-offs.
Having retained only nine members of his squad ahead of 2023, Thornton has increased that marginally to 12 as he and the club look to find the perfect blend of young local players eager to develop their careers, and players with the experience and game knowledge to move them up the table.
The incoming Martyn Ridyard, Gregg McNally and Jordan Andrade certainly add the experience that was lacking at certain points throughout last season.
The club have been making steady progress since Andy Mazey and the new board took over ahead of the 2020 season that never was, without ever mounting a serious promotion challenge. That might still be a couple of years off yet, but they will certainly be challenging in the play-offs once again.
Watch out for… He might be 37 years old, but Martyn Ridyard remains one of the most influential pivots outside of Super League. His stats speak for themselves with almost 3,000 points scored in over 300 games. With a lot of younger players in the squad, Ridyard’s extensive experience can only benefit those around him.
2024 squad: 1 Gregg McNally, 2 Dan Nixon, 3 Myles Harrop, 4 Joe Hartley, 5 Tommy Brierley, 6 Martyn Ridyard, 7 Lewis Else, 8 Kenny Baker, 9 Aiden Roden, 10 Luke Nelmes, 11 Ben Forster, 12 Duane Straugheir, 13 AJ Boardman, 14 Matt Wilkinson, 16 Jordan Andrade, 17 Ben Killan, 18 Deane Meadows, 19 Connor Ratcliffe, 20 Toby Brannan, 21 Luke Forber, 22 Kyle Huish, 23 Calum Hughes, 24 Jaden Dayes, 25 Matty Rudd, 26 Max Flanagan, 27 Joe Coope-Franklin, 28 Brad Brennan, 30 Lameck Juma.
Rugby League World predicts: 5th
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 494 (March 2024)
Click here to subscribe to the print edition of Rugby League World
