Newcastle Thunder vs Featherstone Rovers Programme

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NEWCASTLE

Kingston Park, Friday 8 AUG, 20:00 KO // Betfred Championship
JACK JOHNSON 1
ALEX YOUNG 2
MARCUS WALKER 3
ALEX CLEGG 5
ALEX DONAGHY 6
NIKAU WILLIAMS 7
JAY CHAPELHOW 8
Curtis Davies 9
Mitch Clark 10
Brad Gallagher 12
Connor Bailey 13
Denive Balmforth 14
Ted Chapelhow 15
Robert Tuliatu 17
Jake Lightowler 18
Gideon Boafo 20
Evan Lawther 21
Jake Anderson 22
Connor Moore 23
Max Flanagan 25
Mac Walsh 26
Jack Miller 27
Tyler Walton 28
Paddy Burns 29
Evan Simons 40
Mike Ogunwole 41
2 Luke Briscoe
3 Chris Hankinson
4 Craig Hall
5 Gareth Gale
6 Johnathon Ford
8 Craig Kopczak
9 Connor Jones
10 James Lockwood
11 Brad Day
12 Elijah Taylor
13 Jack Bussey
14 Matty Wildie
15 John Davies
16 Junior Moors
17 Gadwin Springer
18 Josh Hardcastle
19 Luke Cooper
20 Mark Kheirallah
21 Joey Leilua
22 Dan Fleming
23 Caleb Aekins
24 Matheiu Cozza
25 Thomas Lacans
26 Tyle Hepi
27 McKenzie Yei
28 Kyle Evans
34 Dane Chisholm

Good evening and welcome back to another Thunder
match-day at Kingston Park.
I’d like to thank you, all our supporters, for joining us
once again and for sticking with us throughout what we
know has been a difficult season.
I’d like to welcome our opposition in Featherstone
Rovers back to Thunder HQ and any supporters who
have followed them up North.
We know the task at hand today is going to be
an incredibly difficult one, Featherstone are a
fantastic side who once again have enjoyed a stellar
Championship season.
They clinched the League Leaders shield last week and
I don’t think anyone can argue that they’ve been the
benchmark side this term.
Although this may be the case, I’m confident our lads
will pull together and put in a performance. They gave
Toulouse a good go last week and there’s no reason why
they can’t carry that into this week.
We know defeat tonight confirms our relegation from
the Championship and in preparation for best and
worse case scenarios, we have put things in place,
planning accordingly.
It is important, however, to focus on the task at hand
first, in taking on the league leaders, and should the
result go against us we will respond appropriately.
Regardless of this noise, we want you, our supporters,
to get behind this team and enjoy another fixture at the
home of rugby league in the North East.
Be loud, be proud and cheer on the lads, as the season
draws to a close – let’s be sure to finish this campaign
on a high!
KEITH CHRISTIE
Chair of Newcastle Thunder
4

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CLUB
NEWS
CHRIS THORMAN
TAKES ON THE GREAT
NORTH RUN
Head coach Chris Thorman,
alongside 15 staff, players,
parents, and members is taking
on the Great North Run this
weekend, raising funds for
Newcastle Thunder’s Academy.
The Academy supports over
100 young players from across
the North East, Cumbria and
North Yorkshire between the
ages of 12 and 18-years-old.
With aim to make rugby league
as accessible and competitive
as possible in the region,
it’s vital that a thriving
development programme
from Newcastle Thunder is
maintained.
This can only be done with your
support and if you’re wanting
to help by getting involved, you
can donate by clicking HERE.
8

FINAL HOME
GAME OF THE
SEASON
Newcastle Thunder host
Barrow Raiders in the club’s
final home game of the season.
The fixture takes place on
Saturday, September 16 in a
3pm kick-off and tickets are
available to purchase now.
You can secure your place by
clicking here with tickets
available from just £10 for
adults and £3 for under-16s.
Concessionary pricing is also
available from £8 and young
adults and students can get
tickets from just £5.
We know it’s been a tough
season and it hasn’t gone
the way we had hope but
regardless of the outcome it’ll
be fantastic to see as many
of you down for the fixture
so we can end the 2023 home
campaign on a high.
MITCH CLARK HITS
THUNDER MILESTONE
Newcastle Thunder’s Mitch
Clark recently hit an
appearance milestone for
Newcastle Thunder reaching
50 appearances for the
club against York Knights at
Kingston Park.
Clark has been a prominent
feature throughout his three
seasons on Tyneside and in 51
games has returned four tries.
The powerhouse prop joined
Thunder from Wigan Warriors
and made his debut for the
North East outfit against
Swinton Lions in 2021.
9

COMMUNITY
NEWS
MASTERS TOUCH
RUGBY RETURNS
TO KINGSTON
PARK
Following the
success
of
last season’s
programme,
Newcastle Rugy
F o u n d a t i o n
will be hosting
Masters touch
rugby sessions
across a six-week
programme.
From Monday,
September 4, the
hour-long sessions
take place weekly,
starting at 6:30pm.
The sessions are
open for anyone
over the age of
35, male or female
and of any rugby
ability. It’s a great
way to get fit and
socialise so be
sure to sign up!
The cost to enter is
£2.50 per session
and can be booked
by clicking HERE.
12

COMMUNITY CLUBS TAKE PART
IN PRE-MATCH FESTIVAL
There was plenty of fun in the sun for several
local rugby teams who joined us for a final
pre-match rugby league festival of the season
at Kingston Park, ahead of our game against
Toulouse Olympique XIII.
We’d like to congratulate all the players that
took part and give a huge shout out to the
following clubs:
Yarm Wolves, Cramlington Rockets, Catterick
Crusaders, Gateshead Storm, Newcastle
Magpies, Wallsend Centurions, and Consett
Eagles
Players who took part also got to form a Guard
of Honour and be team mascots. They even got to
meet Thunderbolt.
GOOD LUCK TO ALL
RUNNERS TAKING
PART IN THE GREAT
NORTH RUN
Newcastle Rugby Foundation wishes all the
runners the best of luck taking part in the
Great North Run this Sunday.
There is still time to donate to all who are
running via our Enthuse page.
If you are already thinking about signing
up for next year or wanting to compete in
a similar event to help raise funds for the
Newcastle Rugby Foundation, please contact
ellie.osborn@newcastlefalcons.co.uk or
falconscommunity@newcastle-falcons.co.uk.
The Newcastle Rugby Foundation have nine
runners who are representing the charity at
the Great North Run this Sunday. They have all
been training incredibly hard putting in the
hours and miles in preparation for the 13.1-
mile race starting from Newcastle City Centre
and finishing in South Sheilds.
Newcastle Rugby Foundation will have a table
located near the start of the Junior North Run
on Saturday 9th September, so in between
cheering on your friends, family and loved ones,
come over for a chat to see what the Foundation
is doing within the local community and how you
can get involved.
All the money raised makes a huge difference
in helping the Foundation to make RUGBY+ the
positive difference that changes lives for
good. The charity strives to achieve a positive
impact - boosting wellbeing, growing skills,
raising involvement, and building a sense of
belonging.
13
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram: @falcons_community Facebook: Falcons Community Twitter: @FalconsCF LinkedIn: Newcastle Rugby Foundation

Rugby League is played by two teams of 13
players, playing on a pitch that is 100m
long.
Games are played in two 40-minute halves,
with the team with the highest score after
the combined 80 minutes winning the game.
You may run forwards with the ball, and you
may kick the ball forwards, but as in rugby
union, you can only pass the ball backwards
or sideways.
If you pass the ball forwards or knock the
ball on (that is deflect the ball towards the
opposition, try line by contact with the
body or arms) possession is handed over to
the opposing side.
In rugby league, teams are allowed up to six
tackles to score. Once a player is tackled,
the tackler must let go of the ball carrier
and his teammates must retreat 10 meters.
The ball carrier is allowed to stand up and
then play the ball back to a team mate to
start the process again.
If a team is tackled a sixth time, possession
of the ball is handed over to the defending
team who gain possession of the ball from
the spot of the tackle.
To make it more difficult for the other team
to score, the attacking team will usually
kick the ball away on the fifth tackle to
increase the distance between the opposition
and the try line.
Try – Worth four points a try is scored when
downward pressure is applied to the ball on
the ground in the opponents in-goal area.
The ball can either be ran into the in-goal
area or kicked through and touched down.
Conversion – After scoring a try teams
can add additional points by successfully
kicking a goal called a conversion. Taken
from a spot 20 meters from the goal line
and perpendicular from where the try was
scored. Kicking the ball over the crossbar
and between the posts scores two points.
Penalty – If the opposition commits a foul,
teams can opt to attempt to score a goal
by kicking the ball between the posts and
over the crossbar from the spot where the
infringement took place, this also scores
two points.
Drop Goal – A drop goal can be scored by
kicking the ball through the posts and any
point in open play. To score these, the ball
must be dropped onto the ground before
being kicked. Worth just one point, a drop
goal is rarely seen, but in close games it
can be the difference between victory and
defeat.
In summary, if you can count to six, you are
going to enjoy a game of rugby league.
A team will run with the ball, get tackled,
play the ball backwards and repeat this
process up to six times in the attempt to
score up to six points at a time, before the
other team will have a go.
The object of the game is to score more
points than the opposing team with several
ways to do this during a match.
14

Ball Steal
When two or more people are involved in
a tackle, a ball steal occurs when a player
from the defending team takes the ball off
the attacking player who has been tackled.
Dissent
If a player disputes decisions taken by the
referee or verbally abuses the officials
then a penalty for dissent may be awarded.
Double Movement
If the ball carrier is tackled and held before
the try line and then lifts their arm
to reach out and place the ball over the try
line, this is classed as a double movement
with a penalty awarded to the defending
team
High Tackle
If a defending player contacts the head of
the attacking player carrying the ball, a
penalty for a high tackle will be awarded.
Late Tackle
If the attacking player passes the ball to a
team-mate and the defender has had time
to pull out of his attempted tackle but carries
through, he has committed a late tackle
and will be penalised.
Not 10
When a player doesn’t retreat behind the
next 10m line or goes too early when defending
the next tackle of a set, a penalty
will be awarded. This can also be awarded
as an offside penalty.
Obstruction
When an attacker prevents a defender from
getting to the ball carrier to effect a tackle
by getting in between the two players, a
penalty is awarded for obstruction
Offside
As well as an infringement around being
10m from the play the ball, offsides can also
be awarded in instances where players are
in front of a kicker.
Tackle in the air
If a player has jumped to take the ball in the
air and the defending player makes no attempt
to play at the ball, but instead goes
straight for the player or makes a tackle
before the gathering player returns to the
ground, a penalty will be awarded
For a host of other offences, referees will
simply reset the tackle count bay awarding
a “Six Again”
This is signaled by the referee waving a
clenched fist above his head from left to
right.
15
15

CHRIS
THORMAN
“
A big thing for me
is making sure we
always work as hard,
if not harder than
our opposition.
As the Betfred Championship season begins to
draw to a close and only a handful of fixtures
remain in the league, clubs will begin to reflect
and analyse their campaigns.
Thunder’s season, and the club will be the first
to admit, has been disappointing and sitting at
the bottom of the table certainly is not what had
been envisioned.
Despite this and the reality of relegation
drawing close, there have been a series of
positives to see coming out of the Thunder camp.
The fixture against Toulouse, although a 36-16
defeat, showed promise and an indication of
where the club can go.
A gutsy performance which saw the side never
give up and compete until the very end, was
acknowledged by head coach Chris Thorman in
his team review earlier this week.
Speaking on his squad’s performance, the
Wallsend native said: “I think like most of our
recent games, especially home fixtures, we
weren’t far off at all but that’s unfortunately
been our story throughout the season.
“I thought we were really competitive in the
game, all the way through to the end, and if it
wasn’t for a couple of calls and some soft tries
as a result of poor mistakes, we’d have been
right in it.
16

“
With that, I know
for a fact we’ve
got enough good
players to cause
them problems.
“One thing I did say to the
squad was that I wanted them
to match them on effort and a
big thing for me is making sure
we always work as hard, if not
harder than our opposition.
“I felt with York we lacked that
and didn’t show it, which has
been a rarity this season.
“We might not have the most
talented and in-depth squad
but throughout the year I
can happily say the lads have
always offered huge efforts.
“We needed a response after
York and we certainly did that
against Toulouse.”
The Toulouse fixture also
provided a spotlight to some
players, who put in strong
individual performances
and one of which Thorman
identified was young Mac
Walsh, who joined the side
from Newcastle University at
the start of the season.
18

“It’s not often I single out
individual performances but
this week I thought it was
important to acknowledge
that Mac has his best game for
the club so far – which when
you consider the opposition
is certainly a statement.
“This season, Mac has been a
work in progress, he’s only
19-years-old so has a lot
ahead of him and we wanted
to work on his development.
“Seeing how he performed last
week was really nice and made
me proud. It’s just fantastic to
see all the hard work pay off
and put it into practice, it’s
why us coaches do what we do.
“I also felt as though it’s
important to give as much
game time to players that are
going to have a future at the
club and Mac is one of those.
Thunder’s next home fixture is
today’s clash against league
leaders Featherstone Rovers,
who recently clinched the
league leaders shield, following
their win over Bradford.
Looking ahead at the
fixture, Thorman said: “It’s
pretty easy to say that we
know Featherstone are the
best side in the league.
“They have great squad
depth and have been the
most consistent team in
the Championship by a mile.
“From our point of view, it’s
not necessarily about our
opposition. We’ve been looking
at and putting a lot of emphasis
on working hard, working
harder than our opposition
and putting a big shift in.
“With that, I know for a
fact we’ve got enough
good players to cause
them problems offensively
and if we can match this
defensively, I’ll be a happy man.
Thunder currently sit five
points adrift from thirteenth
placed SwintonLions and six
points from Barrow Raiders
in the ‘safety’ zone, which puts
the club in a position where
relegation is a high possibility.
Should Thunder lose against
Featherstone, that will
unfortunately confirm the
club’s relegation to League 1
and Thorman gave his thought
on subject.
“Although there’s still a job
to do and it’s not officially
confirmed, we’re realistic in
what lies ahead, and we have
been preparing accordingly.
19

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“We have a lot of talented
youngsters, who will have to
make that step up going forward
“It’s a very bitter pill to
swallow, it’s not something
we had envisioned and wanted
to go though this season but
on the flip side and if we can
turn this into a positive from
the club’s perspective, it’s an
opportunity to really hit the
reset button.
“We’ll be communicating what
exactly this looks like going
forward but with everything
that’s gone on at the club over
the last 18 months or so, a
genuine clean slate gives us a
great opportunity to build on
our identity.
“There have been positives to
draw on this season, I’ve learnt
a lot about the group and one
thing I can proudly say is that
they all have certainly
improved in comparison to
where we were at the start of
the year.
“For me personally, I’ve learnt
to trust them, especially our
younger players, a lot more,
which is what we are going to
have to do in the future.
“We have a lot of talented
youngers, who will have to make
that step up going forward and
it’s important we utilise their
potential.
“The last few games give us an
opportunity to put a market
down and use it as a starting
point to propel us into next
season.”
That starts with this week’s
fixture against Featherstone
where within the squad,
two academy graduates and
regular Reserves players in
Nathan Rushworth and James
McGurk are up for selection.
Speaking on the addition to
the squad list, Thorman said:
“The thing with Nathan and
James is that they’ve been
consistent all season and I’m
all for giving opportunities to
people that I think deserve it,
whether those two boys play or
not, they’ve certainly deserved
to be in the 21-man squad.
“In training they’ve stepped
up and I’m looking forward to
seeing what more can come
from them both towards the
end of the season.”
Thunder’s last home game of
the season comes against
Barrow Raiders on Saturday,
September 16 in a 3pm kickoff
and Thorman expressed the
importance of signing off the
2023 home season on a high.
“It’s massively important to
finish the season off on a high
and build that momentum into
2024.
“Our supporters are very
honest and for the last five or
six home games they’ll know
they will have got their value
for money.
“We ran the second-best team
in the league close last time
out and I think if they see that
type of performance again,
they’ll enjoy the last Kingston
Park match day of the season.
“We know they’ll also be
disappointed with how this
year has gone and we want to
ensure that their support for
us is appreciated in these last
couple of home games.”
21

Name
Thunder
career
apps
Thunder
career
points
Thunder
career
tries
Season
2023
apps
Season
2023
points
Season
2023
tries
Name
Thunder
career
apps
Thunder
career
points
Thunder
career
tries
Season
2023
apps
Season
2023
points
Season
2023
tries
Jake Anderson 10 0 0 3 0 0 Evan Lawther 4 8 2 4 8 2
Connor Bailey 70 40 10 27 16 4 Jake Lightowler 9 0 0 8 0 0
Denive Balmforth 24 20 5 24 20 5 Jack Miller 20 50 3 20 50 3
Gideon Boafo 41 72 18 15 28 7 Connor Moore 19 12 3 19 12 3
Jay Chapelhow 52 44 11 25 24 8 Mike Ogunwole 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ted Chapelhow 59 28 7 22 20 5 Evan Simons 154 172 43 9 0 0
Alex Clegg 75 144 36 25 36 9 Robert Tuliatu 23 4 1 23 4 1
Mitch Clark 51 16 4 24 12 3 Marcus Walker 20 8 2 20 8 2
Curtis Davies 28 4 1 28 4 1 Mac Walsh 6 4 1 6 4 1
Alex Donaghy 46 54 13 23 18 4 Tyler Walton 5 0 0 5 0 0
Max Flanagan 3 4 1 3 4 1 Nikau Williams 22 89 2 22 89 2
Brad Gallagher 39 20 5 17 4 1 Alex Young 14 20 5 14 20 5
Jack Johnson 48 116 29 15 28 7

24
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Second row
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Loose forward
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Prop
17 Robert Tuliatu
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Loose forward
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26

1. 1.
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Centre
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27

FIXTURES & RESULTS
JANUARY
F: SAT JAN 18 V KEIGHLEY COUGARS (L 12-24)
FEBRUARY
BC: Sun Feb 5 v Swinton Lions (W 6-18)
BC: Sat Feb 11 v Toulouse Olympique XIII (L 58-0)
BC: Sun Feb 19 v Keighley Cougars (L 44-24)
BC: Sun Feb 26 v Featherstone Rovers (L 56-6)
MARCH
BC: Sun Mar 5 v Barrow Raiders (D 18-18)
BCC: Sat Mar 11 v Stanningley SARLC (W 16-58)
BC: SAT MAR 18 V LONDON BRONCOS (L 6-36)
BC: Sun Mar 26 v Widnes Vikings (L 24-16)
APRIL
BCC: Sat Apr 1 v Rochdale Mayfield ALRFC (W 12-
22)
BC: FRI APR 7 V SHEFFIELD EAGLES (L 20-44)
BC: Sun Apr 16 v Whitehaven RLFC (L 31-6)
BCC: Fri Apr 21 v York RLFC Knights (L 22-18)
MAY
BC: SUN MAY 7 V HALIFAX PANTHERS (L 16-36)
BC: Sun May 14 v York RLFC Knights (L 26-22)
SB: Sun May 28 v Sheffield Eagles (L 38-32)
NEXT TIME AT KP
V BARROW RAIDERS
SAT SEPT 16th
BETFRED CHAMPIONSHIP
Kick-off: 15:00
JUNE
BC: FRI JUN 2 V BRADFORD BULLS (L 12-28)
BC: SUN JUN 11 V BATLEY BULLDOGS (L 12-26)
BC: SUN JUN 18 V KEIGHLEY COUGARS (W 18-16)
BC: Fri Jun 23 v Sheffield Eagles (L 40-0)
JULY
BC: Sun Jul 2 v London Broncos (L 56-10)
BC: SUN JUL 9 V WHITEHAVEN RLFC (W 30-12)
BC: Sun Jul 16 v Halifax Panthers (L 50-12)
BC: SUN JUL 30 V SWINTON LIONS (W 25-19)
AUGUST
BC: SAT AUG 5 V WIDNES VIKINGS (L 6-50)
BC: Sun Aug 20 v Bradford Bulls (L 36-8)
BC: FRI AUG 25 V YORK RLFC KNIGHTS (L 6-20)
SEPTEMBER
BC: SAT SEP 2 V TOULOUSE OLYMPIQUE XIII (L 16-36)
BC: FRI SEP 8 V FEATHERSTONE ROVERS (8PM)
BC: SAT SEP 16 V BARROW RAIDERS (3PM)
BC: Sun Sep 24 v Batley Bulldogs (3pm)
KEY: BC = Betfred Championship, BCC = Betfred Challenge Cup,
SB – Summer Bash, F = Friendly.
(Home games in capital letters)
FIRST TEAM
28

RESERVES & ACADEMY
MARCH
R: Sat Mar 4 v St. Helens Reserves (L 72-4)
R: SAT MAR 18 V LONDON BRONCOS RESERVES (W 48-6)
U16: Wed Mar 22 v Huddersfield Giants Academy (L 66-4)
U18: SUN MAR 26 V LEEDS RHINOS ACADEMY (L 0-84)
R: FRI MAR 31 V CASTLEFORD TIGERS RESERVES (L 10-22)
APRIL
U16: WED APR 5 V BRADFORD BULLS ACADEMY (L 20-30)
U18: Thu Apr 6 v Bradford Bulls Academy (L 78-16)
R: Sat Apr 15 v Huddersfield Giants Reserves (L 32-18)
U18: THU APR 20 V HULL FC ACADEMY (L 10-76)
R: FRI APR 28 V WARRINGTON WOLVES RESERVES (L 6-54)
MAY
U16: Wed May 3 v Castleford Tigers Academy (L 44-14)
U18: SUN MAY 7 v ST. HELENS ACADEMY (L 110-4)
R: Sun May 14 v Hull FC Reserves (L 58-12)
U18: Sat May 20 v Warrington Wolves Academy (L 68-6)
R: FRI MAY 26 V WAKEFIELD TRINITY RESERVES (L 14-32)
U18: SUN JUN 18 V WAKEFIELD TRINITY ACADEMY (L 18-72)
R: SUN JUN 25 V LEIGH LEOPARDS RESERVES (PP)
U16: Wed Jun 28 v Hull KR Academy (L 30-10)
JULY
U18: Sun Jul 2 v London Broncos Academy (L 46-26)
R: Sat Jul 8 v Wigan Warriors Reserves (PP)
U16: WED JULY 12 V WIGAN WARRIORS ACADEMY (L 8-88)
U18: Sat Jul 15 v Castleford Tigers Academy (L 96-12)
R: FRI JUL 21 V LEEDS RHINO RESERVES (L 46-12)
U16: WED JULY 26 V LEEDS RHINOS ACADEMY (PP)
U18: SUN JUL 30 V BRADFORD BULLS ACADEMY (L 28-46)
AUGUST
R: Sat Aug 5 v Salford Red Devils Reserves (L 32-10)
R: Sat Aug 19 v Bradford Bulls Reserves (PP)
SEPTEMBER
U18: FRI SEP 8 V HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS ACADEMY (5:45PM)
U18: Wed Sep 13 v Hull KR Academy (7pm)
JUNE
R: Sat Jun 10 v Hull KR Reserves (PP)
U16: Sat Jun 17 v London Broncos Academy (W 18-26)
NEXT TIME AT KP
V HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS ACADEMY
FRI SEPT 8th
Kick-off: 17:45
KEY: R = Reserves, U18 = Under-18s, U16 = Under-16s
PP = Postponed
(Home games in capital letters)

IN OPP
FEATHER
Featherstone Rovers have enjoyed
another stellar campaign in the Betfred
Championship, clinching the league
leaders shield last week in a tight affair
away at Bradford Bulls.
Featherstone have led right from the off
and have been the benchmark within the
league.
Throughout the entire 2023 season to date,
the side hailing from West Yorkshire have
only lost three games, two of which came in
the league against Toulouse Olympique XIII
and Halifax Panthers and the other in the
Challenge Cup, against Halifax Panthers
once more.
Formidable in attack and defence,
Featherstone top the league charts for
most points scored with 932 and for least
points conceded with 247.
Looking to go one better than last year’s
campaign, where they were stunned by
Batley Bulldogs in the play-off semi-finals,
Featherstone will no doubt be aiming for
Super League status come the 2024 season.
In the reverse fixture of today’s tie,
Featherstone put on an emphatic
performance, defeating Thunder 56-6 at
The Millennium Stadium. Winger Alex Clegg
crossed for Thunder’s sole score of the
Round 4 clash, with Nikau Williams adding
a conversion.
30

OSITION
STONE ROVERS
JAMES FORD
DIRECTOR
OF RUGBY
Acting as head coach on an interim basis,
director of rugby, James Ford took over the
reins following the club’s decision to relieve
Sean Long from the position back in August.
Long shockingly departed the club despite
having lost just three times all season and
sitting eight points adrift at the top of the
table.
As a player Ford played as fullback, centre and
wing beginning his career with Featherston
before enjoying stints in the Super League with
Castleford Tigers and Widnes Vikings.
Ford also represented Sheffield Eagles and York
Knights before retiring as a player in 2014.
In 2018, the 40-year-old became York Knights
first ever full-time coach and also enjoyed an
assistant coach role at Wakefield Trinity.
31

IN OPPO
THREE T
GARETH GALE #5
(WINGER)
Gareth Gale is in his fourth season at
Featherstone Rovers and in total has made
72 appearances for the club, returning an
incredible 61 tries.
This season, Gale is the club’s leading tryscorer
with 25 from as many appearances and
is currently on a run of four tries from his last
three games.
The 30-year-old has bagged himself four
hat-tricks throughout this year’s campaign,
coming against Whitehaven, Widnes Vikings,
and York Knights on two occasions.
BRAD DAY #11
(SECOND ROW)
Brad Day returned for a second spell at
Featherstone this year, signing from Thunder
ahead of the new season.
The 28-year-old has previously played for Super
League side Castleford Tigers as well as fellow
Championship club Batley Bulldogs.
In his combined three seasons at Featherstone,
Day has made 56 appearances and scored 22
tries.
For his returning campaign this term, Day has
featured 16 times for the club and returned
five tries with his latest coming against London
Broncos in Round 15.
32

SITION
O WATCH
THOMAS LACANS #25
(HALF-BACK)
Thomas Lacans joined Featherstone ahead of
the 2023 season, signing from French Elite 1
Championship side Lezignan.
A product of the Catalans Dragons academy
system, Lacans had previously played for
Thunder in the 2022 season on loan, making
three appearances and scoring one try.
In 2023, Lacans has featured 13 times for
Featherstone, returning an impressive seven
tries and his latest coming against Swinton
Lions in Round 18 of the Betfred Championship.
33
Photography credit: Batley Bulldogs