T’Other Side: Rochdale Hornets

T’Other Side: Rochdale Hornets

2019 Matches

FIRST TEAM SQUAD

LAST TIME OUT

Head Coach: Matt Calland

Matt Calland became head coach on May 8 head coach, succeeding Carl Forster with Miles Greenwood and Lee Mitchell acting as caretakers for a fortnight in between.. He was previously the head coach at Halifax from 2008 until July 2011 and was their coach when Halifax beat Fev in extra time at the 2010 Championship Grand Final.

His began his playing career with Rochdale in 1990 and then moved to Featherstone in 1993. He left Fev to sign for Bradford in 1995 and in 1999 he went to Hull FC. In 2001 he returned to Rochdale and he retired after playing 3 games for Huddersfield in 2003. However, later that year, he started playing again with Rochdale and then spent his final season, 2004, with Hull Kingston Rovers.

He was primarily a centre and in 1996 he was a substitute for England against France.

Captain: Lee Mitchell

Lee Mitchell provides the team with Super League experience. He made his début with Warrington in 2007. In both 2010 and 2011 he made appearances for Leigh on dual reg as well as playing on loan for Harlequins RL in 2011.

In 2012 he signed for Castleford and then spent 2013 in Australia playing for Burleigh Bears. On his return he joined Whitehaven, spent 2015 at Batley and then joined Rochdale in 2017. In 2007 he played for the England U18 team.

At the back

Dan Abram, fullback or half back, has played in every game bar one this season and taken the huge majority of Rochdale’s goal kicks. His father, Darren, also played and coached the Hornets. Dan made his début for Barrow in 2016 and also played for Cumbria that year in a match against Scotland. He moved to Whitehaven last season.

Shaun Ainscough, wing, joined Rochdale from Batley this year. He will be much remembered by Fev fans for the end of the match between Fev and Batley in 2015. Something he will have tried to forget but not an easy thing to do because the video was recently shown on Australian television! He began with Wigan in 2009 and in 2010 had loan spells with Castleford and Widnes. In 2011 he moved to Bradford and Whitehaven in 2014. He joined Batley in 2015.

Jordan Case, centre or second row, played for Rochdale from 2013 to 2017 and spent last year at North Wales. He is a former England Academy international.

Declan Kay, fullback or wing, has only ever played for Rochdale and made his début in 2017.

Brandon Wood, centre or wing. This is his first year in professional rugby. Last year, while playing for Rochdale Mayfield he represented England U19s in the European U19 Championship.

In the halves

Pierre-Louis Bourrel, stand-off, is a very recent signing having joined Rochdale on June 24th. He has been signed from French Elite 1 club Carcassonne.

Izaak Farrell, halfback, was signed from Huddersfield at the end of May. He made his début with the Giants in 2017 and also had a loan spell with Swinton that year. Last year he was on loan at Batley.

Stuart Howarth, halfback, joined Rochdale this year from Whitehaven. In 2010 he played a couple of games for Blackpool on dual reg from Wigan. In 2011 he joined Wakefield and then Salford in 2012. He spent most of 2013 on loan at Saint Helens and in 2014 he played a game for Barrow on dual reg. In 2015 he moved to Hull FC and played for Doncaster on dual reg before being transferred back to Wakefield in mid-season. In 2016 he went on loan to Bradford and joined Workington for 2017 and then Whitehaven last year.

Oscar Thomas, halfback or fullback, came to Rochdale in May, on loan from Swinton. He made his début with London Skolars in 2013 on dual reg from London Broncos. He played for the Broncos in 2014 and 2015 and also had another dual reg spell with Skolars in 2015. In 2016 he joined Bradford and in 2018 he was at Sheffield. He is a Scotland international.

At hooker

The main occupant of the hooking role for Swinton this season had been the very experienced Scott Moore but he moved to Swinton in mid June.

Ben Moores, hooker, stand off or loose forward, began his professional career with South Wales Scorpions in 2013 after being signed from amateur club Woolston Rangers. He left the Scorpions at the end of the season and didn’t play again professionally until he joined Rochdale in 2016.

Callum Wood joined Rochdale this year from Orrel Saint James ARL club and it is his first professional season.

In the pack

Liam Carberry, loose forward, has had a career somewhat blighted by serious injuries. He was in the academy at Wigan, during which time he played for the England Academy. In 2012 and 2013 he had games for South Wales Scorpions on dual reg. In 2014 he joined Widnes and played for Whitehaven on dual reg in 2015 before signing for Whitehaven in 2016. In 2017 he was at Swinton but didn’t play (professionally at least) last season.

Callum Marriott, prop, joined Rochdale from local amateur side Rochdale in May and was one of the first signings by Matt Calland when he became the Rochdale coach.

Mike Weldon, second row, made his professional début as a Sheffield player last year.

Dual Registration and loan signings

Rochdale have a dual registration agreement with Warrington Wolves. So far, in 2019, eight Warrington players have played for Rochdale: Sitaleki Akauola (prop), Matt Davis (forward), Jack Johnson (wing), Luis Johnson (second row), Harvey Livett (loose forward), Pat Moran (prop), Ellis Robson (loose forward) and Danny Walker (hooker).

Winger, Kevin Brown, is on loan from York. Reece Hamlett, Ben Kilner and James Worthington are on loan from Wigan. Oscar Thomas (see above) is on loan from Swinton. They have had Jack Higginson (Leigh) and Adam Lawton (Salford) on loan this year but both are now back with their parent club. Joe Ryan has been sent on loan to North Wales.

The Fev connection

Neither the Rochdale nor Fev squads have players who have ever played for the other club.