WHEELCHAIR RUGBY LEAGUE GRAND FINAL LEEDS RHINOS V HALIFAX RLFC 7PM | SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 16 MEDWAY PARK, GILLINGHAM WELCOME It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the 2017 Wheelchair Rugby League Grand Final, here at Medway Park, the Home of Wheelchair Rugby League in England. This fantastic venue gives our players the best possible opportunities to prepare and perform at the highest lev- els and showcase our wonderful sport. We are indebted to Medway Council and the staff at Medway Park for years of excellence, innovation, hard work, energy and enthusiasm which create the perfect environment. Our finalists, Halifax and Leeds Rhinos have both had fantastic seasons and have been rightly rewarded with the opportunity to claim the ultimate domestic prize. The players, coaches, volunteers and supporters of all our clubs put in a huge effort to make wheelchair Rugby League Work and this event is the reward for a few. I encourage all participants to enjoy every minute. It is also a big day for the Match Officials, a great team who have travelled the length and breadth of the coun- try to help us deliver our matches and events. They are highly skilled and are making significant contribution to our development as we strive to improve. I would also like to welcome the players, coaches, vol- unteers and supporters of the four clubs, hosts Medway Dragons, Gravesend Dynamite, The Argonauts and Here- ford who will be competing for the Kent Cup this after- noon, making this a real Festival of Rugby League. I have no doubt we will enjoy a fantastic occasion and we will witness some awesome speed, aggression, fantastic skills and loads of passion, Rugby League at its very best. Martin Coyd OBE Chair, Wheelchair Rugby League TOUCH RUGBY LEAGUE It is a minimal contact recreational Touch Rugby League is a fast moving sport that is about playing the game on minimal contact evasive game that is the field and also the social atmosphere played throughout the world by men & afterwards. women of all ages and skill levels. Touch is a great way of meeting people This fast, simple and exciting game or involving partners or friends. promotes the fundamental skills of Touch is a non-contact sport so is almost running, handling, evasion and support completely injury free, It is a fun, easy and play, developing basis principles of attack active way of keeping fit. It is a very social and defence, without the fear of getting sport, and a great way of team building. hurt. Touch Rugby is suitable for both VISIT playtouchrugbyleague.co.uk beginners and experienced players. CONTACT [email protected] WHEELCHAIR of both sexes and a wide age range the RUGBY LEAGUE opportunity to compete both with and against each other on a level playing field Rugby League has always tried to be created by the use of wheelchairs and inclusive and now Wheelchair Rugby some slight adaptations of the rules of League has made it probably the most Rugby League. inclusive team sport in the world. Fast, dynamic and exciting, it makes for a great Wheelchair Rugby League is unlike most game playable by all… wheelchair sports in remaining faithful to the rules of Rugby League. Wheelchair Rugby League was invented in France and introduced in the UK in 2005. The game is unique in that it offers CONTACT [email protected] both disabled and non-disabled players www.wheelchairrl.co.uk MASTERS version of the sport and the rules are RUGBY LEAGUE slightly modified to cater for the older gentleman. There are no winners, no Masters Rugby League started in New champions and no cup finals. Masters Zealand in 1992 and progressed to is all about the spirit of the game and Australia, before coming to the UK in everyone experiencing the enjoyment of 2008, where it is enjoying great success playing, and, after the match, the most and currently engaging hundreds of important rule is “Everyone has to buy a players. It’s a fantastic sport to be drink for their opposite number”. involved in, both on the field and in the after-match social. YOU DON’T STOP PLAYING BECAUSE Masters Rugby League can only be YOU GROW OLD | YOU GROW OLD played by persons aged 35 or over BECAUSE YOU STOP PLAYING with our eldest player now 82 years of age. Masters is open to all whether you VISIT www.mastersrl.co.uk have played rugby league before or not and you don’t have to be super fit or CONTACT super league to play. It is strictly a social [email protected] TAG RUGBY LEAGUE Tag Rugby League is a minimal contact Registration for leagues, taster sessions version of Rugby League, generally and events is open for teams, part teams played in the 7-a-side format. and individual players. Try Tag Rugby have mixed, men’sMen’s and Tag Rugby has a lively social scene and ladiesWomen’s weekday weekday evening evening or weekendor weekend it’s a great place to meet new friends, leagues running across London, The there’s also one-day tournaments and Thames Valley, Yorkshire and Manchester festivals which feature post-match parties. year round. Matches last 40 minutes and Leagues VISIT trytagrugby.com vary in standards, ranging from those aimed at beginners who’ve never CONTACT touched a Rugbyrugby ball, ball, to to experienced experienced [email protected] players. If you have never played before, why not give it a go at one of our FREE Taster Sessions. SQUAD STEWART WALKER (2) | CORAL BATEY (3) | NATHAN MULHALL (4) JACK BROWN (6) CAPTAIN/COACH | GAVIN DOBSON (7) THOMAS MARTIN (8) | HARRY BROWN (9) | ROBERT HAWKINS (11) ANDREW ATKINSON (12) | ANNABEL HAWKINS (16) WAYNE BOARDMAN (18) | JOSEPH BATCHELOR (21) JACK SYKES (25) ROAD TO THE FINAL Halifax As the longest-running club in the sport Halifax have since held their form to date today, Halifax Wheelchair Rugby League with the Leeds defeat their only blemish will be hoping to build on their run of on a perfect record this season. success over the last three years today. Ahead of the game, player-coach and After winning the Challenge Cup for England captain Jack Brown said: the third time in a row in August with a “Everyone at Halifax is really excited victory against Leeds Rhinos, they hope for their last game of 2017, and it’s only to defend their title as league winners fair that we meet Leeds here today, in a as well to make it a clean sweep for the game that will see 10 international players third-successive year. between the two teams. Halifax started slower than usual in 2017, “The Grand Final promises to be an suffering a dramatic one-point defeat amazing spectacle, we all love playing at against Leeds away from home. Medway park.” But that result seemed to kick the team back into gear when they faced a strong Leyland Warriors side in the Challenge Cup quarter finals. SQUAD NATHAN COLLINS (1) | JOSHUA BUTLER (2) | RYAN RICHARDSON (3) JAMES SIMPSON (4) | TOM HALLIWELL (7) | EWEN CLIBBENS (9) JODIE BOYD-WARD (10) | SEBASTIEN BECHARA (11) | NEIL HARPER (13) | TONY GODWARD (14) ROAD TO THE FINAL Leeds Rhinos The Rhinos began their journey to the fifth try of the game for Richardson, as final in Round One, when they took on they progressed through with a victory. the Argonauts from Dartford, who were The Rhinos were involved in an making their Challenge Cup debut. entertaining Semi Final match, as they The Rhinos started well and opened up a were up against fellow WhRL Premier thirty-two point lead with two tries for Tony League side, the Medway Dragons. Godward and Josh Butler, who completed A great opening 10 minutes spell by the an early first half hat trick. Dragons saw Joe Coyd and Martin Lane score three tries, to open up a 16 point A further try each for Butler, Richardson, gap. and Cibbens, along with a first try of the game for Jodie Boyd-Ward, saw the Leeds got themselves on the score sheet Rhinos lead at half time. when James Simpson and Tom Haliwell both scored their first tries of the game, A second half hat trick of tries each for as they closed the gap to the Dragons. Richardson and Cibbens alongside two more tries each for Godward and Butler Leeds took the game back to the saw the Rhinos start the competition Dragons at the end of the first half when winning the game.. Simpson, Nathan Collins and Josh Butler all scored a try each, to give the Rhinos a In the Quarter Finals, the Rhinos faced off 6 point lead to close out an entertaining against Mersey Storm, a team from the first half. WhRL North Development League. The Rhinos started the second half very The Storm took an early advantage and strongly, adding three early tries through opened up a ten point lead through England internationals Jodie Boys-Ward Steven Lever. But the Rhinos rallied to and Sebastian Bechara. dominate the first half with Ewan Cibbens But the Dragons were not finished yet; scoring two tries and Jodie Boyd-Ward, Lane, Coyd, and Barnett scored a total Josh Butler and James Simpson all scoring of four ties to reduce the gap back to 12 a try each. points with just over twenty minutes left The second half saw the Rhinos to go. dominate the game from the restart. They Despite three tries for the Dragons added four more tries with Richardson through Coyd, Lane and Sebastian completing a hat trick and a try each for Groves, The Rhinos finished the game Tony Godward and Sebastian Bechara, with a try each for Haliwell and Simpson, giving the Rhinos a twenty-eight points winning an enthralling game by 84 points lead.