MATCH PREVIEW: MIDLANDS HURRICANES V DEWSBURY RAMS (BETFRED LEAGUE ONE ROUND FIVE)

The Main Stand at The Alexander Stadium (Credit: Stadium Database)

Canes to lock horns with Rams at The Alex

After almost another month away from home, the Midlands Hurricanes welcome Dewsbury Rams to The Alexander Stadium for our Betfred League One Round Five fixture. The Canes go into this fixture top of the Betfred League One table with seven points from a possible eight, and Head Coach Mark Dunning will no doubt be keen for his young and ambitious side to produce a complete and professional performance against a Rams side who will be keen to make the Super 8s and bounce straight back to the Championship at the first attempt.

Since the Canes last competed at home they have travelled away to Keighley Cougars and Newcastle Thunder, with Midlands emerging victorious on both occasions but both games representing a game of two halves. The clash at Cougar Park saw the Canes enter the sheds with a commanding 8-24 lead, however a motivated Keighley side took the fight in pursuit of a first league win and it would take a Jake Sweeting penalty on 60 minutes to separate the sides at full time. By contrast, a dogged and determined Newcastle Thunder side limited the Canes to three tries in the first half, however a firm conversation in the changing rooms saw Midlands turn things up a gear in the second half with 38 unanswered points leading to a 6-54 victory at Blaydon RFC.

Turning to our opponents, Paul March’s Dewsbury Rams side are sure to present a difficult test for Mark’s Midlands Hurricanes after having a very strong start to their Betfred League One season. Whilst their Round One 10-20 home defeat to North Wales Crusaders will have been a disappointing start to the season, the Rams have quickly bounced back with three consecutive wins over Goole Vikings (16-22), Swinton Lions (10-26) and Keighley Cougars (26-12) that see them go into this fixture in fifth place (fourth assuming that Whitehaven’s victory over Cornwall is expunged following the latter’s withdrawal from the league on Wednesday).

Outside of the club’s league campaign, the Rams Challenge Cup efforts saw them faces rivals back-to-back, with an away victory over local community club Dewsbury Moor (6-50) before falling short against Heavy Woollen Derby rivals Batley Bulldogs in the Third Round (26-4). In the 1895 Cup the Rams were able to topple Workington Town in the Second Preliminary Round at Derwent Park (10-18), however their cup campaign came to an end at the First Round Proper as they were defeated by Championship side London Broncos at the New River Stadium (26-16).

Looking to the club’s head-to-head record, the Canes and the Rams have only clashed twice before with the visitors emerging victorious on both occasions. The two previous meetings took place during Dewsbury Rams last spell in League One in 2023, with Dewsbury defeating the Canes 50-10 at Crown Flatt before a close-fought contest at The Alexander Stadium under (then) new Head Coach Mark Dunning saw the visitors return to West Yorkshire with a 23-28 victory. The latter fixture will be one close to full-back Todd Horner’s heart as it was the game where he made his professional debut and scored his first professional try with his first touch of the ball!

In terms of the squads, Mark has named an unchanged 21-man squad for the third consecutive game and seems to be seeking to keep a winning run going by focusing on continuity on the field. There are also no fewer than four players who can claim to have a foot in both camps, with Dewsbury’s Dan Coates and Jacob Hookem both having featured for the Canes in previous seasons and Midlands’ Elliott Morris and Zeus Silk having joined us from Dewsbury after the conclusion of the 2024 season.

Today is your last chance to save money on ticket prices for tomorrow’s fixture, with prices to rise by £2 (£1 for U16s) for those paying on the gate tomorrow. Advanced ticket prices are:

£15 Adults
£12 Concessions (O65/17-21)
£7 Student
£1 U16

Tickets can be purchased HERE. We hope to see as many fans as possible to cheer on the Canes as they aim for a third consecutive Betfred League One win. COME ON YOU CANES!

Your www.enjoytravel.com 21-man squads:
Midlands Hurricanes
1 - Todd Horner (Sponsored by Yorkshire Ceiling Services)
2 - Matty Chrimes (Sponsored by Lowry Recruitment)
3 - Ryan Johnson (Sponsored by Hull Wyke Rugby League)
4 - Ross Oakes (Sponsored by Geoff and Maureen Hammond)
6 - Jake Sweeting (Sponsored by In Memory of Robert and Stephen Sweeting)
8 - Jon-Luke Kirby (C) (Sponsored by EJ Interiors Ltd)
9 - Danny Barcoe (Sponsored by St Katherine’s Carpets)
11 - Tom Wilkinson (Sponsored by JW Visual)
12 - Josh Jordan-Roberts (Sponsored by 39 Steps Consulting)
13 - Mikey Wood (Sponsored by MG Electrical Contractors Ltd)
14 - Aiden Roden (Sponsored by Enjoy Travel Group)
15 - Aaron Willis (Available to Sponsor)
16 - Ellis Hobson (Sponsored by GLLEE UK Ltd)
17 - Kieran Moran (Available to Sponsor)
18 - Zeus Silk (Sponsored by This is Warrior)
19 - Marcus Green (Available to Sponsor)
20 - Elliott Morris (Sponsored by GLR Energy Ltd)
21 - Sullivan Medforth (Sponsored by Ideal Building Systems)
24 - Matty Hanley (Sponsored by JGE Wholesale)
25 - Luis Roberts (Sponsored by Crypto Construction)
26 - Ethan Newboult (Sponsored by Leeds Rugby Club)

Dewsbury Rams
3 - Caelum Jordan
4 - George Senior
6 - Dan Coates
7 - Jacob Hookem
8 - Jackson Walker
9 - Sam Day
11 - Joe Summers
12 - Matt Garside
13 - Dec Tomlinson
14 - Luke Mearns
15 - Keenan Tomlinson
16 - Louis Collinson
18 - Jamie Field
19 - Jack Briggs
20 - Harvey Roberts
22 - Liam Copland
26 - Paul Sykes
27 - Tom Delaney
30 - Craig McShane
31 - Jack McShane

Whilst our focus of course is on Sunday’s clash with the Rams, we want to remind fans that the Canes will be back at The Alex two weekends later for an all-important Easter Saturday clash with North Wales Crusaders on 19 April. Tickets for that fixture are already on sale and we would encourage fans to take advantage of the advance ticket prices as soon as possible so their Easter Bank Holiday weekend has a healthy dose of rugby league!

#DARETODREAM