Leeds Rhinos Foundation is excited to be hosting the fourth festival of the Physical Disability Super League this Sunday, with the Rhinos PDRL side returning to action against Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves.
Following trips to Wakefield, Warrington and most recently Castleford for the first three festivals of the 2022 season, the Rhinos players will now play on home turf with local community club Oulton Raiders providing the venue for Sunday’s matches as PDRL makes it’s long-awaited return to Leeds.
It will be the first time that Leeds Rhinos Foundation has hosted a regular PDRL League festival, having previously staged the 2019 Finals Day won by Warrington at Selby RUFC. All six sides in the league will showcase their skills, with a total of seven matches taking place spread across two pitches at the Oulton club.
First up for Dan Roberts and Kieran Hickman’s men is an ever-improving Wigan Warriors outfit in the festival’s second round of fixtures, the Rhinos winning all four previous meetings with the Cherry and Whites.
A mouth-watering clash between the Rhinos and Warrington following that could well be the deciding fixture for who claims second place in the table, with both sides- who faced each other in the first ever PDRL fixture back in 2018- looking to chase down unbeaten leaders Wakefield.
With one of PDRL’s oldest rivalries set to be renewed again, Team Coach Hickman believes his side will be raring to go prove a point after their disappointing defeat to the Wolves last time out.
“It’s great to be hosting our own Festival this weekend and we are thankful to Oulton Raiders who have welcomed us in and given us use of their facilities right here in Leeds.
“We’ve got a good opportunity to right some wrongs this weekend. It was a tough ask at Castleford for the lads who turned up with us losing 6 or 7 players in the build-up, and I think we learnt a lot about ourselves that day.
“Being backed up with three games definitely took its toll too, but the lads never gave up and even managed to give Wakefield and Warrington a bit of a scare. Hopefully with a full team we can give it a good go and show what we’re all about.”
Our Leeds Rhinos PDRL side have really enjoyed their return to league action in 2022 following the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and forward Simon Brown has urged all rugby league supporters to come down and show their support for some truly inspirational athletes.
“It’s a really nice reward for the lads who have been working so hard this season to now play on home soil and hopefully we’ll get some really good numbers for our home crowd.
“For anyone who’s never seen PDRL before they might be a little bit shocked, because it is heavy duty with plenty of big hits and a good standard of rugby. All the lads are passionate and playing for the badge means a lot to them, as does having the chance to be part of a team and play this fantastic sport together.
“Our home festival is the one we’ve been looking forward to the most, and I’m sure it’ll be a great event for families to come down and enjoy a fantastic festival of disability rugby league.”
Take a look at Sunday’s full fixture schedule below:
ROUND ONE- KICK OFF 11:15am
Bradford Bulls vs Wigan Warriors (Pitch 1)
Wakefield Trinity vs Castleford Tigers (Pitch 2)
ROUND TWO
Leeds Rhinos vs Wigan Warriors (Pitch 1)
Warrington Wolves vs Bradford Bulls (Pitch 2)
ROUND THREE
Bradford Bulls vs Wakefield Trinity (Pitch 1)
Castleford Tigers vs Warrington Wolves (Pitch 2)
ROUND FOUR
Leeds Rhinos vs Warrington Wolves (Pitch 1)
There will multiple changing room facilities provided for the teams, with food and drink available from the Raiders’ clubhouse and a limited amount of free parking on-site. Entry will be free, but spectators are encouraged to kindly make a small donation to Leeds Rhinos Foundation on arrival.
For more information about Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s Physical Disability Rugby League team, please contact disability@leedsrhinosfoundation.org.
