Crosfields V Bradford Dudley Hill Saturday 2Nd March 2019 Crosfields ARLFC - Club Officials
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Kingstone Press National Conference League Division Two Crosfields V Bradford Dudley Hill Saturday 2nd March 2019 Crosfields ARLFC - Club Officials Life President Colin Webb Vice Presidents Pat Gibbons, Annette Parker, Tony Parker, Neil Stephenson Chair Mike Donnison Secretary Tony Parker Committee Dominic Caswell, Chris Hull, Matt Mahoney, Annette Parker, Steve Pickersgill Head Coach Ian Boden Assistants Chris Hull, Matt Wilson Alliance Coach Andrew “Franco” Campbell Assistant Lou Walsh Junior Section Chair Lewis Worthington Secretary Kate Hall Treasurer Jeanette Buller Subs Secretary Jackie Thomason Welfare Officer Tammy Smith Crosfields ARLFC - Welcome Good afternoon and a warm welcome to Crosfields ARLFC at the Webb Security Recreation Ground, for the opening game of the 2019 season. Today, we welcome the players, supporters and officials from Bradford Dudley Hill, for today’s Kingstone Press NCL Division Two Round One game. Our visitors were promoted to Division One in 2017, beating Crosfields twice in the process, 26-24 in Bradford and 14-16 here at the Webb Security. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as hoped in 2018 and they were relegated, winning only three league games. Crosfields missed out on promotion in 2018, losing the first play off game against Saddleworth Rangers, after having finished the regular season in 3rd place, with 15 victories during the campaign. Nathan Taylor topped the Crosfields try-scoring charts with 21 tries, whilst Jack Reid scored 204 points with 82 goals and 10 tries. Hayden James picked up a remarkable 11 man of the match awards and was duly rewarded with his second consecutive Warrington Wolves Foundation Man of Steel Award, which is featured later in the programme. Prior to the Crosfields v Bradford Dudley Hill game, the U16s take on Wigan St Judes at 11:40am, followed by the Masters v Leigh East at 1:00pm, so we are in for a busy and entertaining afternoon. This year marks the 30th Anniversary of Crosfields winning the BNFL BARLA National Cup. Throughout the season, we will take trips down memory lane to celebrate the achievement and will hold a special re-union day, towards the middle of the season. Our thanks go out to Tom Rourke (Secretary of Crosfields at the time of the cup win)) and his family, who have raised funds to supply defibrillators in memory of Mike Rourke. Read Tom’s words later in the programme. Our Sponsor Focus today is on Millennium Supplies Ltd. Former Crosfields player and Managing Director Tony Jones writes a few words on his business and Crosfields and we’ve been into the archives to dig out a team photo from 1995, which includes Tony. Also, check out the mascot. I thank Tony and all our sponsors, for their continued support. Good luck to everyone involved today. Yours in Sport Mike Donnison Crosfields ARLFC – Next at the Webb Security Recreation Ground Sunday 4th March 2019 10:00 - U7’s v Golbourne 10:00 - U8’s Cobras v Wigan St Cuthberts 10:30 - U11’s Cobras v Newton Storm 10:30 - U15’s v Rochdale Mayfield 11:00 - U8’s Adders v Orrell St James 11:00 - U9’s v Bank Quay 11:30 - U10’s Cobras v Shevington Sharks 11:45 - U13’s v Clockface 11:45 - U18’s v Chorley 1:00pm - U12’s Vipers v Folly Lane 1:30pm - U14’s v Featherstone Saturday 9th March 2019 NWML Division Three 2:30pm Alliance v Burtonwood Bridge Saturday 16th March Kingston Press NCL Division Two 2:30pm Crosfields v Clock Face Miners Crosfields ARLFC – In My View, by Phil Hodgson HERE’S hoping that the action in last week’s Kingstone Press National Conference League, when the opening day of the 2019 season was limited to Division Three, has set a template for the campaign as a whole in all four sections. Most of the games were closely-fought thrillers, with only two points separating the teams in three of the seven fixtures, between Hunslet Warriors and Batley Boys, Leigh East and Drighlington, and Millom and Waterhead Warriors. Another, involving Salford City Roosters and Dewsbury Celtic, closed at 28-22 in favour of the home side, who bounced back from 22-12 down with fifteen minutes left, while the match at Eastmoor Dragons, where Heworth – happily back in the NCL after four years away – may have finished at 40-28 to the hosts but those simple numbers belie a contest in which the visitors had led 24-0, and 28-4, before the Wakefield side blasted to victory with six unanswered tries in the last 27 minutes. Hensingham, new kids on the block, were only six points adrift at Woolston Rovers midway through the second period before losing 38-14, leaving the fixture between Gateshead Storm and Oldham St Anne’s as the only game that was fairly one-sided. Even then, though, the Saints were only 16-4 behind at the break before losing 32-4. Perhaps the most thrilling finish was at Hunslet Warriors where Batley Boys, who had led 18-12 with seven minutes left, were thwarted by two late tries – one in the final minute. It was a similar story at Millom, where the home side broke an 18-18 deadlock with a penalty four minutes from time, only to be scuttled by a last-gasp Waterhead Warriors try. The match at Leigh East, meanwhile, was one in which Drighlington, who were 22-16 ahead with time running out, were left hanging on when the home side notched an unconverted try five minutes from time. Phew, there was some compelling action there in what was a tasty appetiser for the season ahead. There were plenty of thrills, too, at professional level last week, not least in the BetFred Super League clash at Wigan Warriors where the reigning champions were beaten by a Hull FC outfit that had lost its previous thirteen games in the first match to be settled by `golden point’ since the controversial innovation, insofar as league games are concerned, was introduced in the top flight at the beginning of this season. Who would have predicted such a result? Quite a few when I think about it, given that Hull hadn’t looked at all bad in their defeats by Hull KR and Castleford Tigers. And it was certainly predictable that Marc Sneyd would land the winning field goal. Then we had the fightbacks by St Helens and Salford Red Devils against Leeds Rhinos and Hull KR respectively, while there was nothing more dramatic than Hunslet’s win at Doncaster in League 1, earned through two late penalties by Reece Dean. Hold onto your hats, I reckon we could be in for a roller-coaster 2019! Crosfields ARLFC – NCL Sponsors Crosfields ARLFC – RFL President’s Ball Andy Burnham hosted the RFL President’s Ball in Leeds this weekend – marking the halfway point of a year in which he is enjoying the chance to focus on some of Rugby League’s unsung heroes. The President’s Ball is an annual highlight for the game, a glittering black-tie function at the historic Queens Hotel in City Square, at which the great and good have the opportunity to celebrate the good work of charities such as the Steve Prescott Foundation, and the RFL Benevolent Fund. More than £20,000 was raised for the Benevolent Fund on Saturday night, in addition to a cheque for £48,000 which was presented to the Fund by the Steve Prescott Foundation. Burnham’s Presidency will continue to feature a similar combination of ceremony and grassroots. Since succeeding Air Commodore Dean Andrew OBE last July, he has presented the Challenge Cup to Remi Casty at Wembley, and laid a wreath in remembrance of the Fallen Heroes of the Northern Union before the Elland Road Test on Armistice Day. But the Mayor of Greater Manchester also picks out his leading role in the review of Youth Rugby League for teenagers, and the first-hand experience of playing Masters Rugby League for Golborne Parkside, as highlights of the last six months. “One of the things I really wanted to do coming into this role was shine a light on the grassroots game,” explained Burnham, who was Labour MP for Leigh from 2001-17 before his election as Manchester’s first Mayor. “My son played the game a few years ago, so I got to see the community game in all its glory – and I really mean that, because these community clubs are so important, not only for talent production in Rugby League, but in terms of producing strong young characters, and the contribution they make to their communities. “I think the game at that level is in good health – we’ll see that in the First Round of the Challenge Cup later this month, when the community clubs get their weekend in the spotlight. I’ve loved the BBC coverage of some of these games in recent years – clubs like Miners in Leigh, St Pats in Wigan, and Crosfields ARLFC – RFL President’s Ball loads of others have had the national spotlight shone on them, and this year it’s going to be Millom up in Cumbria playing Red Star Belgrade. It’s fair to say you wouldn’t see that fixture in any other sport! “But there’s also a reality that those clubs need constant support. The Legacy Programme for the 2021 World Cup is going to provide more investment in facilities, and the 12-18s review is another part of seeing what we can do to strengthen the community game. I’m very passionate about that. “Masters Rugby League is something else that’s made a big impact on me in these first six months.