Newsome Panthers RL Club will be playing in the Yorkshire Men’s Rugby League Second Division Grand Final on Saturday (October 1) against old rivals Ossett Tigers.
The Panthers have already collected three trophies this season including the league leader’s shield. They topped Division Two by six points and won all of their 16 games, including against second-placed Ossett both home and away. The Panthers also beat the Tigers in the Yorkshire Men’s Rugby League Trophy game a few weeks ago.
That final was played at Mount Pleasant, Batley, and Newsome won the game with a last ditch try to seal a 20-16 victory.
The two teams will once again do battle this weekend at the same venue to see who is crowned Grand Final winners. If Newsome win the fixture it will be a clean sweep of first team trophies for the club this season and will mean they have gone undefeated for a second season in a row.
Boss Richie Hawkyard is expecting Ossett to go all out to spoil Newsome’s party on the famous sloping pitch. He said: “We know as a team what we need to do and we are determined to do it.
“We know how we need to play on that pitch and beat this opposition on that pitch. We know what they will throw at us and where their strengths and weaknesses are.
“Ossett are a good team but we have beaten them three times already this season and so I’m expecting them to throw everything at us. Anything can happen on the day. We just need to be ready for that.”
Hawkyard is hoping to play in the game himself after recovering from an injury – thanks to a little help from the Huddersfield Giants physio.
Hawkyard added: “I was disappointed to miss the last few weeks however the boys have done great. I have been working with the Giants’ physio and the work we have done is great and I feel fully fit again so with some luck I should be OK to play in Saturday’s final.”
The final kicks off at 1pm on Saturday October 1 at the Fox’s Biscuits Stadium.
