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Goole Vikings aiming to buck trend as Scott Taylor opens up on first game excitement

Goole Vikings Challenge Cup

Goole Vikings won’t be setting any lofty league targets as they approach their first ever season as a professional outfit but they’re certainly aiming to buck the trend, says Scott Taylor.

The Vikings were accepted into the Rugby Football League in September, with the East Yorkshire outfit being handed a spot in League One for 2025. It’s been an extremely short turnaround then and just four months after they become a professional outfit, the club find themselves on the eve of their first ever game.

That match will be played on Tuesday night at the Millennium Stadium as Taylor takes his Goole side to Featherstone Rovers for a friendly game. The contest is nothing more than a trial clash but it promises to be a huge test of Goole’s early preparations as they ready themselves for the competitive action which comes on January 25 against London Broncos in the Challenge Cup.

Goole won’t get their League One season underway until February 23 when they host Midlands Hurricanes and as it stands, it’s hard to know what to expect. The Vikings have recruited well with some high profile names making the move to the club, but they’re under no illusions about the challenges they face as a new club entering the league.

They know that new teams usually struggle in year one and they are more than aware of how competitive League One is going to be in 2025, with the likes of Swinton Lions, Whitehaven, Workington Town, Rochdale Hornets, Keighley Cougars and Dewsbury Rams all gunning for promotion.

As such, Goole Vikings aren’t approaching the new campaign with a target or a league position in mind, they just want to be competitive.

“Being fully honest, there’s not that sort of pressure,” Taylor told Serious About RL. “We’re not putting any big labels on what we’re doing.

“My thing is to be competitive and it’s sort of known that normally the new team coming into League One don’t do well and are fighting at the bottom. I’m really hoping that isn’t the case and I’m hoping we can coach, develop and recruit well enough to be just competitive week in, week out and if we can be that we’ve got a chance of winning more games than we lose.

“My aim is just to take it week by week. We’ve got no foundations to be making predictions off the back of, but I want us to be competitive, I want us to learn and build some real foundations this year to set the club off on the right foot.”

Taylor is no stranger to coaching having worked with community club Beverley ARLFC during his days as a player with Hull FC. However, Tuesday night will see him take charge of a professional club for the very first time.

“I think there’s some nerves there but I don’t think it would be good if you didn’t have nerves,” the Goole Vikings boss added. “I think it’s more excitement. There’s been a lot of work, I first got approached for this job in June which was, as we know, three or four months before we even found out we had a rugby team.

“As soon as I got approached for that job and I got that buzz I started making lists of players and going over my philosophies so I’ve been going at this for a good six or seven months. It’s more just excitement about all this coming together, getting out there and seeing what we can do and then build from there.

“A bit of nerves because I’m head coach for the first time in the professional game and with that comes pressure but there’s no real pressure there from the outside and above me, they just want to see us be competitive.”

He continued: “I’m really enjoying it. It’s definitely a full-time job, there’s a lot of work gone into it, a lot of planning. It’s been great with all the support I’ve had and I’m really enjoying it but I’m excited for the games to start now.

“I’m lucky that I’ve put together a good group of lads who have been outstanding for me and real supportive, having a good dig. We have some real good people involved, staff and volunteers. It’s been a team effort and Goole as a town has been really supportive and made us all welcome.”

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