Opportunity knocks

RUGBY: WITH an average age of around 21, Waterhead Warriors will rely heavily on their pups for the 2016 National Conference League season.

It’s a route the Peach Road club is happy to tread. Coach Dave Orwell will call on Terry Fitzgerald and Kieron Grennan for experience, but the Warriors line-up will have a youthful look.

Nine of the team which faced Saddleworth Rangers in the Napier Windows Standard Cup last weekend rose from last season’s under-18s.

“It is part of the club’s philosophy,” said Waterhead secretary Simon Holland. “It hasn’t been the case for the last couple of seasons, but promotion through the ranks is something we want to achieve here.

“If they haven’t been signed up by professional outfits by their 18th birthday, a lot of kids believe they can’t make it and drop out of the game altogether.

Hooker Reece Bradshaw, centre Ciaran Dean and full-back Alex Jobson are just three names to watch. Jobson is a Scotland international.

In 24-year-old Orwell, Waterhead also possess one of the youngest coaches in the competition.

The former Huddersfield Giants prop was in charge for much of last season and will be better for having a season behind him.