Former Great Britain international Paul Sykes has signed up to spend another season with Dewsbury Rams. The 43-year-old’s new deal ensures he will spend a 10th season with the League One club and a 27th year in professional rugby league.
Sykes’ career started with Bradford Bulls back in 1999, where he made nine appearances over three seasons before joining London Broncos in 2002. It was in the capital where the versatile back made his name, appearing on 137 occasions in all competitions.
He made his debut for England in 2005 and went on to collect four caps for his country, while he also featured and scored for Great Britain against France in 2007 at Headingley.
Sykes returned to Bradford in 2008 and featured 100 times, before moving on to join Wakefield Trinity on an initial loan in 2012. He spent two seasons as a permanent player at Belle Vue, before signing for Championship side Featherstone Rovers.
He joined the Rams in 2016 and in the nine seasons that have followed he played 186 times, touching down on 30 occasions. It means that the veteran already has 530 senior outings for club and country under his belt, but he’ll be looking to add to that this season by helping the West Yorkshire outfit back to the Championship.
Dewsbury fell out of the second tier last season, finishing rock bottom of the table after winning just two games all year. As such, they’ll be determined to bounce back in 2025 and they’ll get their campaign underway with a home game against North Wales Crusaders in February.
Speaking of his new deal with the Rams, Sykes said: “I’m very happy to have signed again with Dewsbury for another year, I’m looking forward to the challenge and working with the boys.”
Head coach Paul March added: “It’s great to have Sykesy back for another season, his experience will be vital with our young squad this season.”
