SIX former players will be inducted into Woolston Rovers’ hall of fame at the Warrington outfit’s annual season launch dinner.
The event will take place on Saturday, February 7 at the Masonic Hall, 15 Winmarleigh Street, Warrington, WA1 1NB.
Tickets for the bash, which starts 7.00pm, are priced at £25 and can be purchased by contacting press officer and treasurer Dave Whalley (by call or by text) on 07809 647014.
The six inductees comprise two from the 1959-80 era, a couple from 1981-2000 and two from 2001 to the present day.
Ray Pickersgill, a strong-running and hard-tackling prop, played in the late 1960s and 1970s and is a prominent member of Woolston’s Past Players’ Association while goal-kicking winger John Tilling regularly topped Rovers’ points-scoring charts during the 1970s before coaching several of the club’s sides.
Chris Lawton was a workaholic forward in the 1981-2000 era while Gary McKean was a similarly committed hooker and famously landed the field-goal in a 1-0 win over Wigan St Patricks.
The inaugural inductee from the 21st century cohorts is Great Britain international Jon Cole, a prolific try-scorer, whether in the second row or the centre, who made his first team debut at the age of 17.
And goal-kicker John Welch – whose career began in the 1990s but who played well into the 2000s – gravitated from the backs to the front row. Instrumental in the club’s move to Monks Sports Club, he was Rovers’ chairman for a period of time.
FrameSmart will conduct a silent auction and the evening will include addresses by NCRL team head coach Liam Lawton and NWML side head coach Craig Woolvine on their hopes and aspirations for the forthcoming season.
Mark Brookhouse will present heritage numbers to many long-serving stalwarts.