ALL eyes will be on dual-reg Jon Ford, a teenager tipped for the top, when Oldham RL go for their third win in four games at Whitebank on Sunday (1pm kick off).
Opponents Gateshead Thunder were beaten 34-16 in the Northern Rail Cup at the same venue in March and Roughyeds will be aiming for a repeat.
Nineteen-year-old Ford, contracted to Salford City Reds for three years, didn’t play in that game but he’s no stranger to life in the Oldham jersey, having played twice previously.
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The launch of a new venture in sport
A new organisation has been set up to celebrate and support the women who work in, play, watch and support the sport of rugby league.
Her Rugby League Association was created by Angela Powers, a Sky Sports reporter who has been involved in covering the game for 15 years.
“I have always been quietly proud of the fact that rugby league appeals to and attracts so many women, even though it is played predominantly by men and is characterised by aggressive contact,” she said.
“Despite its combative nature, it has grown to be considered THE sport for all the family, and that is reflected in the make up of the crowd and the warm and friendly atmosphere most people experience at live games.”
Her Rugby League Associationʼs main objective is to promote the sport to new audiences by highlighting the part that women play in the game. By celebrating the positive aspects of the sport – and dispelling some outdated and inaccurate myths about who actually watches and plays it – Her RLA believes that those who have never played or watched a game might be tempted to ʻgive it a goʼ.
“Rugby league, like many other sports, has some very real challenges right now. The reduction in some of its Sport England funding and the increasing difficulty in attracting new sponsors in a tough financial climate are making it harder to market and expand the sport.
“Couple that with the impending structural changes to Super League and the licensing system, and you can see why some may question its future direction. But people have been incorrectly predicting rugby leagueʼs demise since its birth in 1895 – and we believe that enhancing the positive can only do it good in the longer term. Thatʼs why we are here. To make a difference.” Continue Reading
The schedule for the Police Rugby League World Cup sees current World Champions Fiji, Australia and host nation Great Britain go head to head in a round-robin format.
The two leading teams will then meet as part of the Festival of World Cups Finals Day at Headingley Carnegie Stadium on Sunday July 14.
“I am delighted that the Police Rugby League World Cup is taking place in West Yorkshire,” said Mark Burns-Williamson, Police and Crime Commissioner for West Yorkshire. Continue Reading
YOUNG hooker Adam Files will be out to make it six of the best at Whitebank on Sunday.
On season-long loan to Oldham from link club Salford City Reds, 20-year-old Files has scored a try in each of his adopted club’s last five games.
He’s logged six in total, but his try-a-game sequence began in the first league game against Rochdale at Whitebank and continued at Hunslet (Tetley’s Challenge Cup) and in league games against Gloucester (away), Oxford (home) and Hemel Stags (away).
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FROM a strength and stamina point of view, Oldham RL players will easily cope with the challenges to come, says club fitness guru Mike Hughes.
As part-time professionals, Roughyeds players must juggle private lives with full-time work and rugby commitments, while facing 12 crucial Championship One games between now and the middle of August.
Starting with Sunday’s visit of Gateshead Thunder to Whitebank (1pm kick off), they go eight weekends without a break and in that time travel for games to Wrexham, Neath, Gateshead and Oxford.
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