The long and rich history of Featherstone Rovers Rugby League Football Club

Sunday 9 November 2014

Bryn Powell, Danny Kirmond, Wayne McHugh,

When Jamie Stokes left Rovers at the end of 2004, Featherstone signed Dewsbury winger Bryn Powell as a replacement. Capped by Wales, Bryn was a proven finisher, and finished second in the try charts in the 2005 season with 11, but at the end of that disappointing season he was one of a number of players who paid the price for Rovers’ relegation and was released. However, six years later in 2011, Daryl Powell brought him back to Post Office Road for a second season. Despite scoring 23 tries in 25 games he was not retained for the following year. Bryn’s opposite wingman back in 2004 was Wakefield–bred Matty Wray (34 tries in 72 games) who played for three years before emigrating to Australia. His replacement was a youngster from Sharlston who went on to make his mark in the game.

Danny Kirmond started out as a winger at Featherstone Rovers and after an impressive start claimed a regular first team spot with his forceful running and safe defence. After topping the try charts in 2007 and scoring 41 tries in 73 games he signed for Huddersfield Giants. Danny has been playing at Super League level ever since, and is currently the captain of Wakefield Trinity.

With Rovers in the third tier of professional rugby league they took a chance on Dewsbury winger Wayne McHugh. Despite his off-field problems, Wayne proved to be a consistent try scorer both as winger and centre at Featherstone and in three years played 75 games and notched 58 tries. Fast and with the knack of being in the right place at the right time, Wayne was the club’s top try scorer in 2006.

Doncaster stalwart Dean Colton played one year for Rovers in 2007 before heading back to the Dons, and later that same season Rovers signed Nigerian Ade Adebisi who scored a couple of spectacular tries in a short stay. Former Castleford and Wakefield winger Waine Pryce gave two years good service to Featherstone, scoring 24 tries in 47 appearances, before finishing his career at Hunslet and York. In the 2009 season he shared wing duties at Featherstone with Scottish international Jon Steel, who Rovers signed from Hull KR.  Jon scored 25 tries in 39 games and represented his country at the 2008 World Cup in Australia.

In Rovers’ league championship winning season of 2010, former Hull full-back Tommy Saxton had been converted into a winger and played right wing, and up and coming youngster Zak Hardaker (19 games 28 tries) played on the left wing.

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