This is a game that all of the squad and coaches are looking forward to against the illustrious visitors of West Hull. 

Some of our younger squad members are probably too young to remember the great West Hull teams of the late 90’s and early 2000’s but they were very much the leading lights of the amateur game. From the 1996/97 season to the 2000/01 they won the league four out of five teams. They then went on to win the inaugural National Conference Grand Final beating our neighbours Leigh Miners. They got there again in the 01/02 and 02/03 seasons but finished runners up to Siddal.

As usually happens in the amateur game, they then went through a period of consolidation and even dropped down a division in 04/05 before returning to the Premier division at the first time of asking. The next golden period for the club came in the 2013 and 2014 seasons as they won the grand final in 2013 and secured the treble in 2014 – league leaders, Conference Challenge Cup and Grand Final winners.

This season, despite two losses in the first two league games, the team currently sit 4th with 4 wins from 6.

As with Leigh East, the West Hull team has turned to youth with the average age of their team last week being just over 21. It takes me back to the early 2000’s when I was part of a youthful Leigh East team that beat the mighty champions of the time with most of our team being under the age of 20. For a couple of years actually we made the old Grasmere Street ground a real bogey ground for our visitors as they struggled to get anything from us.

Since our last meetings in 2012, both squads have changed massively and all factors point to a good competitive game between two largely youthful teams. West Hull have always been renowned for playing a good, expansive game and will be a great test for our players to show the level they need to be at to compete in the Premier Division. 

All of the pressure is on West Hull which allows us the luxury of really enjoying the occasion and to just concentrate on putting on a good show. I really believe in the lads we have at the club and have no doubt we can compete. Much stranger things have happened in sport than us beating West Hull so let’s wait and see what unfolds!

Lee Rowley, Assistant First Team Coach