Championship Preview: The sky’s the limit for Dewsbury
Dewsbury coach Neil Kelly is in buoyant mood after his first pre-season for eight years, with his Rams set to kick-off the new Championship season this Friday against Sheffield.
The Rams had a horror start to last season, losing their first eight games, before Kelly returned to the club and guided them to 12 wins from their next 22.
That meant they eased to Championship survival and they made it to the Championship Shield semi-finals.
With all the talk about Leigh and Toronto, with Featherstone, Halifax and Toulouse in behind, there’s a chance for clubs like Dewsbury to go under the radar.
Especially when you look at the strong squad that Kelly has quietly been building, including Gareth Moore, veteran Paul Sykes, winger Rob Worrincy and solid back-rower Michael Knowles.
Kelly said: “I’ve always been a big believer that if you shoot for the moon, you don’t quite get there but you’re not far away then you’re going to be amongst the stars.
“I do believe the sky’s the limit and every team needs a large slice of luck to have a positive season. I know that this team will do the right things and I believe we can achieve anything.
“Last season the players responded to a new environment and showed that determination and enthusiasm to get the wins on the board.
“We’ve brought one or two new players in and that has now created another challenge, and we need to look to kick on and maybe go a little bit higher.
“We’ve had a great pre-season and now we’ve got to turn it on to the season. Teams that win more than they lose at the beginning are going to be more confident, so that’s the gift we have to give ourselves.”
Head Coach: Neil Kelly
Captain: Paul Sykes
Key Man: Gareth Moore
One to Watch: Jared Simpson
Ins: Jordan Crowther (Wakefield), Billy Hayes (Huddersfield), Martyn Reilly (Halifax), Jared Simpson, Harry Woollard (both Huddersfield), Kyle Trout (Sheffield), Rob Worrincy (Halifax), Sam Day (Featherstone)
Outs: Brad Foster (Hunslet), Toby Adamson (Rochdale), Tom Ashton, Lewis Fairhurst, Mickael Goudemand, Shaun Squires, Mitch Stringer, Tony Tonks, Luke Adamson (Rochdale), Tom Hemingway (Batley), Aaron Ollett (Newcastle), Callan Beckett (North Wales)
Squad: 1 Josh Guzdek, 2 Rob Worrincy, 3 James Glover, 4 Macauley Hallett, 5 Dale Morton, 6 Paul Sykes, 7 Gareth Moore, 8 Jode Sherrife, 9 Robbie Ward, 10 Jack Teanby, 11 Rob Spicer, 12 Michael Knowles, 13 Aaron Brown, 14 Dom Speakman, 15 Lucas Walshaw, 16 Billy Hayes, 17 Toby Everett, 18 Gareth Potts, 19 Sam Day, 20 Jordan Crowther, 21 Harry Woollard, 22 Martyn Reilly, 23 Tom Halliday, 24 Kyle Trout, 25 Jared Simpson
Prediction: 7th