Sheriff hoping Thunder can roll on

Newcastle Thunder full-back Louis Sheriff believes that the team have passed a real milestone in their development over the weekend.

With the Magic Weekend taking place in Newcastle, Thunder played their League 1 game against York on Friday evening.

The game saw an attendance of 2,557 at Kingston Park, which was the largest crowd for a Thunder game since the Super League days in 1999.

The Thunder players also adopted the names of Geordie soccer legends for the occasion, with them sporting names like Shearer and Beardsley on the back of their jerseys.

“It was really good, it good to play under the lights, I love playing on a Friday night,” said Sheriff.

“There were some points to prove after losing to Keighley and Oldham and I think we did that.

“I thought we were outstanding in attack and defence against one of the top teams in this league and for us, we wanted to prove a point in front of a packed out crowd and I think we did that.

“It was brilliant, the atmosphere was great, the energy of the crowd really helped us. Everyone loves playing in front of a lot of fans; you get a buzz off them.

“There a good handful that follow us throughout the country week in week out and there support is massive, but with 2500 for York and 60 odd thousand out at Magic, things are looking good for rugby league in the North East.

“You don’t want to let the crowd down. You don’t feel that you’ve done your job if you’re making mistakes, nobody means to do that, but you want to put smiles on faces of the people who pay our wages.

“Fingers crossed we’ve turned a few heads and with the rugby union and the football being finished we might be able to attract a few of those guys down. 

“We’ve got a massive catchment area for fans, Sport is huge in the area and I think League has a massive place in that.”