Featherstone Rovers coach James Ford has vowed to ‘leave no stone unturned’ in the club’s pursuit of success in 2025. The West Yorkshire outfit have recruited heavily over the off-season with a raft of high profile and impressive talent making the switch to Post Office Road.
The likes of Sitaleki Akauola, Carlos Tuimavave, Derrell Olpherts and King Vuniyayawa have all been signed up by the Flat Cappers alongside several unproven players from Down Under and other names as well. However, it comes after a season in which Featherstone finished sixth before crashing out of the play-offs at the first hurdle.
Their recruitment is a clear indication that the club intend to put up more of a challenge in the new season and Ford insists they’ll take every step necessary to get themselves back towards the top of the Championship.
“Obviously individually and as a coaching team we have spoken about what we feel we can achieve,” Ford said, per the Wakefield Express. “But we have got a quality squad, I’ve got quality staff around me and we’re going to leave no stone unturned – we are really going after this season.”
The Featherstone Rovers chief added: “We’ve put a squad together – not a team, not a 13. There’s 26 players at the minute and I don’t know what the best 17 is, which is good.
“The players have got to compete and fight really hard to get in the 17 and then fight hard to stay in it. That helps us drive up standards through the week and I’m very confident we’ll see much improved performances on the weekend.”
“The age profile of the squad is balanced. Just about a third of the squad are in their early 20s, young men coming into the game or into the country, and we believe there’s lots of improvement in them.
“I’m really excited about the potential of some of them players and the journey we can go on with them.”
