SIX more stalwarts have been inducted into Woolston Rovers’ hall of fame.
The veterans were feted at the Warrington outfit’s annual dinner at the town’s Masonic Hall, when Liam Horrigan was once again an excellent master of ceremonies.
Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols was once more a welcome guest, DJ Dave Birch providing the music, and staff at the Masonic Hall provided their usual excellent hospitality.
The six inductees were:
* Jon Cole – a classy centre or secondrow who made his debut as a 17-year-old in the late 1990s before going on to have a glittering career for the club in addition to gaining Great Britain honours.
* Chris Lawton – a tough, uncompromising player in the 1980s who, unusually, could operate in the forwards or at halfback.
* Gary McKean – acted as hooker during the 1980s and was renowned as a real grafter who never took a backward step. He also dropped a goal to snatch a famous 1-0 win over Wigan St Patricks.
* Ray Pickersgill – a powerhouse prop during the late 1960s and the 1970s – when scrummaging involved plenty of work – and who was strong in both attack and defence.
* John Tilling – a goal-kicking winger who regularly topped the points-scoring charts in the 1970s. In addition to being unerringly accurate with the boot, Tilling possessed a superb sidestep when led to him scoring plenty of tries.
* John Welch – a strong runner and excellent goal-kicker who started life at the club in the early 1990s as a fullback before gravitating to the front row and, in retirement, to the committee where he spent a period as chairman.
Meanwhile, Mark Brookhouse presented heritage numbers to past players Gary McKean, Ronnie Duane, Paul Bigg, Tim Brown, Andy Dutton, Mark Robinson, Terry Williams, Dave Neil and Paul Berry.
Frank Hawley’s widow Rita, along with nephew Andy Hawley collected his heritage number while current players Theo Holt, Billy Maunder, Ben Dixon, Alex Pendlebury and Craig Woolvine were also handed their numbers.
There was also a special presentation of a heritage number for the late Mike Leicester to his sons Alfie and Riley by Mike’s good friends and teammates Paul Berry and Dave Neil.
The annual presentation of heritage numbers is a concept Brookhouse has worked very hard on over the past few years and which sets the standards for all amateur clubs, while Dave Ditchfield’s excellent design of the certificates has also drawn praise.
Head coach Liam Lawton, North West Men’s League head coach Craig Woolvine and club chairman Graham Smith gave an excellent insight into how pre-season training has gone in preparation for the new campaign.
The first team will contest the inaugural NCRL North West Conference and the second team will operate in the North West Men’s League Entry Division.