Jason Netherton has signed a new 12-month deal with the club and will enjoy a Testimonial year in 2014 to celebrate ten years’ loyal service to the Robins.
The Hull-born prop joined the red and whites in 2004 from Leeds Rhinos and has gone on to make 174 appearances in a Rovers’ shirt. He was part of the team that won the 2006 National League One Grand Final and has seen the club come a long way in the past decade during which time he has become a stalwart of the squad.
The 31-year-old says it’s an honour to be awarded a Testimonial year but also admits that his first priority will be playing Rugby League.
“I’m really proud to have reached 10 years with the club and it’s a great honour for both myself and my family,” he said. “I think players such as Paul Fletcher and Stanley Gene were the last ones to have testimonial’s here so to be in company like that is a real privilege.
“The club have shown a lot of faith in me over the past 10 years and hopefully I’ve repaid that faith. When I first arrived at Craven Park in 2004, the thought of being here for such a long time never really crossed my mind. But then when you get to seven or eight years you start to think how nice it would be to reach 10 and here I am. I couldn’t be happier really.
“Training and playing has to be your main focus though as that’s what you’re paid to do and nothing will change for me on that front. We have a committee in place and hopefully they’ll take a lot of the burden off my shoulders and just tell me when and where I need to turn up for the events! It will be a bit of a juggling act for me but we’re not planning on having an excessive number of events and I’m confident that my performance in training and on the field won’t suffer at all.”
Rovers’ CEO Mike Smith is delighted to see Netherton join an elite band of players who have reached 10 years’ service with the club and said, “Jason is an honest professional both on and off the pitch and has given outstanding service to Hull KR during the past decade. He’s achieved something which is quite rare within the sport nowadays and should be extremely proud of the contribution he has made to the club.
“With so many young players in our first team squad, having his experience around the place will be a big bonus and I’m sure the fans will turn out in numbers at his testimonial events to pay their tributes to him.”
