The head coach of community club Lock Lane has explained the club’s call to take their Challenge Cup game on the road to Hull KR, instead of playing it at local Super League club Castleford Tigers.
Lock Lane defeated Brighouse int he first round of the competition before then earning a bye to the third round on account of Featherstone Rovers’ administration. That earned them a dream tie against Challenge Cup holders Hull KR.
The third round sees all Super League sides seeded away from home, however, Lock Lane opted to play the game at Craven Park, with an offer also on the table from Castleford Tigers to play at the OneBore Stadium, just under a mile away.
Head coach Brad Roberts has spoken on BBC Radio Leeds to explain the decision, first explaining how big the occasion is with Lock Lane playing a Super League club for the first time ever.
“It’s massive, it’s going to set us up for years to come, which is a massive thing for us,” he explained.
“I know that’s probably what is on a lot of people’s minds in terms of what we’re getting out of it but for the lads, it’s not about that. It’s about experiencing the day and it’s probably a day that they’re never going to experience again in their lives.”
Hull KR experience to set Lock Lane up for years
Having noted the experience that his side will get, playing at the home of the Challenge Cup and Super League champions, Roberts explained why that was the decision as opposed to the more convenient option of playing at Castleford.
“First of all, money is a big thing and Hull KR tabled a really good offer,” he admitted.
“Castleford did as well to be honest but on the flip side, we put it to the lads and it was unanimous.”
With Lock Lane being so close to Castleford, Roberts revealed that the vast majority of his squad had already played at Wheldon Road, so the opportunity to break new ground and head to Craven Park couldn’t be ignored.
He said: “I think out of the 19-man squad that we’ve got available, 17 or 18 of them have probably already played at Cas and I can’t say that even three or four of them have played at Hull KR.
“It’s a brand new experience for them all and everyone speaks about the money but it was the lad’s decision and they chose Hull KR.
“That’s personally what I wanted to do, to experience something new.”
Atop that experience, the club are also expected to receive a big financial boost with Hull KR hopefully drawing a large crowd for their first competitive game as champions.
On the impact of that money, Roberts said: “It’s going to help us to upgrade things around the club and it will also set us up for two or three years, possibly even more.
“We’re hoping that Hull KR fans really come out in numbers to not only support their own team but to support an amateur team coming up against the possible world champs.”
Check out the latest episode of The Serious About Rugby League Show on our YouTube channel here.
