Warrington set for PDRL Action

This Sunday (August 7) sees the return of Physical Disability Rugby League at Warrington’s Victoria Park, as England Community Lions PDRL Training Squad take on a PDRL Selection team as all players in the representation fold come together.

It’s set to be the biggest PDRL event since last year’s Origin fixture, where a high level of Physical Disability Rugby League was on show as Yorkshire took the spoils against rivals Lancashire.

This Sunday’s instalment of PDRL action will also follow new international laws & systems that haven’t been properly trialled on home soil yet, giving all players the chance to get used to some unfamiliar rules.

The main feature of the day, though, will be the clashes between some of the best talent that Physical Disability Rugby League has to offer – players will look to impress and give themselves every chance of making England’s 20-strong squad for the upcoming PDRL World Cup. 

With plenty of talent on show, here’s how the teams look for this weekend: 

England Community Lions – Tony Seward (Warrington Wolves), Ben Seward (Wigan Warriors), Callum Parkinson (Wakefield Trinity), Adam Fleming (Wakefield Trinity), Sam Zellar (Leeds Rhinos), Adam Morris (Warrington Wolves), Jamie Bennett (Warrington Wolves), Ben Nicholson (Wakefield Trinity), Scott Gobin (Leeds Rhinos), Peter Clarke (Leeds Rhinos), Mike Addison (Warrington Wolves), Mark Gummerson (Leeds Rhinos), Nick Horner (Castleford Tigers), Darren Dean (Warrington Wolves), Henry Ackroyd (Leeds Rhinos), Nicholas Leigh (Leeds Rhinos), Tommy Pouncey (Leeds Rhinos) 

PDRL Select – Chris Young (Leeds Rhinos), Tom Bayliss (Warrington Wolves), Connor Lynes (Castleford Tigers), Adam Hills (Warrington Wolves), Nathan Jezierski (Mick Colbon), Aiden Miller (Leeds Rhinos), Lee Thornton (Wigan Warriors), Nick Kennedy (Castleford Tigers), Harvey Redmonds (Leeds Rhinos), Richard Fisher (Salford Red Devils), Michael Parker (Castleford Tigers), Ryan Lazenby (Castleford Tigers), George Willshaw (Castleford Tigers), Jason Colborn (Bradford Bulls), Jordan Ratcliffe (Wigan Warriors), Stephen Scott (Bradford Bulls), John Clements (Wakefield Trinity)

The PDRL World Cup Final will also take place in Warrington at the home of Betfred Super League outfit Warrington Wolves – the Haliwell Jones Stadium will see two of England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand all compete for the crown. 

Looking ahead to this weekend’s event and its significance in preparation for the World Cup, Chris Godfrey, the RFL’s Social & Inclusion Manager, said: “Again we look forward to continued growth in the PDRL format with this domestic representative fixture forming a fantastic aspirational opportunity for people within the game.

“It will hopefully set the scene for the World Cup ahead, featuring some of the top talent in England. Barriers are consistently being broken throughout Rugby League and once again PDRL offers its showpiece representative offer as another spearhead for our ground-breaking sport.”

Head Coach Shaun Briscoe said: “Myself, the coaching team and the players are really looking forward to another opportunity to progress the sport.

“Covid has been tough on us all and continued to impact the sport throughout last season, but looking at it positively this has given us an extra year to widen the talent pool, have extra time with players and lay more foundations from a representative PDRL point of view. 

“This weekend will be one of the final chances for players to shine before the squad is announced and lots of players are in contention for a spot in the 20-player England Community Lions PDRL squad, it is making my job difficult, but these are great problems to have. Sunday should be high skill, high impact and hotly contested and shine a light on PDRL as a standalone RL variant.”

Things get underway at Victoria Park Warrington from 5:15pm and will be streamed live on Our League. Sign-up here to watch.