18
Jan
Harrogate's rapidly growing rugby league club kick off pre-season
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Harrogate’s only amateur rugby league club has started preparation for the upcoming season this week.
Harrogate Hawks has seen a meteoric rise since its formation in 2021. The club, formerly known as the Harrogate Fireants, was rebranded and has since taken off.
When team manager Laura Symmonds took over the club it only had eight players and no playing kit or equipment.
The Hawks now have 70 players signed on to the club, high quality kit and equipment, and a full management and coaching team.
This means that, for the first time since its inception, it is in a position to regularly field a second team.
Liam Hunn, a registered player at the club, said that this shows “the keen interest to rugby league in a traditional union area".
He said:
Our aims for this season are to firmly establish ourselves as the only operating rugby league club based in Harrogate.
We want to widen our reach to potential players and a supporter base.
This season sees the Hawks’ first time in a competitive league. The first team will be competing in the seven-division Yorkshire Men’s League, which is in the ninth tier of the British Rugby League pyramid.
Though the division is yet to be finalised by the Rugby Football League, the Hawks expect to play against sides based in West and South Yorkshire, as well as Humberside.
They previously played in what is known as a merit league. A merit league is not organised in a league format and primarily operates to arrange friendly games between similar clubs.
Liam said:
We now feel like we have the structure, support and squad depth to compete.
We have a full management team and have been able to attract a high calibre coaching team.
The coaching staff and wider management team are confident that the Hawks will give a good account of themselves in both league and cup competitions.
Harrogate Hawks brought in head coach Jed Gowland midway through last season and his assistant Terry Martin shortly after.
Jed has coached at amateur level for six years at various clubs including Bramley Buffaloes, where he won two league cups and one league title as assistant coach.
He has also spent time at Super League side Huddersfield Giants, coaching their women’s U16 development side.
Terry has been part of the Army Rugby League squad and was part of the team that beat professional side Keighley Cougars in 2019. He has been a qualified coach since 2021.
Laura Symmonds, team manger of the club, told the Stray Ferret about her experience in women's rugby and how she came to manage the Hawks:
My background for the last 15 years has always been in rugby union, as a player and a coach. I saw a gap for woman’s rugby in Harrogate so started up Harrogate ladies back in 2010. Injury forced me into retirement from playing, so I took up coaching and set up a girls side at Harrogate RUFC then went on to coaching the girls at West Park Leeds.
I was contacted on Twitter about setting up a woman’s rugby league team but ended up putting everything into the open age side.
When the fireants folded I took over and rebranded to the Harrogate hawks. I’ve spent the last 3 years building the team from nothing to where it is now. We have a great set of lads that all work together to achieve the aim of the club which is to get lads playing rugby league in an area dominated by rugby union.
Harrogate Hawks will play in the Yorkshire Men's League this season
The club relies on player funding, alongside shirt sponsorship and other sponsorship opportunities.
A temporary agreement with Knaresborough Rugby Union Football Club means that the Hawks will be playing at Hay-A-Park for a 12-month period.
This comes after their agreement with rugby union side Harrogate Pythons ended at the end of last season.
Liam said:
By providing player sponsorship opportunities, we believe that we have a platform for local businesses to promote their brand not just in Harrogate and North Yorkshire, but also across the wider Yorkshire and Humber region, whilst at the same time helping the players with their costs.
As part of our plans for the future, we are aiming to raise money via the help of local businesses to assist us with the development of land adjacent to Knaresborough’s clubhouse, which will provide the Hawks with a more permanent home.
We’d like to put on record our thanks to the committee of Knaresborough RUFC for agreeing to this deal and securing the short-term future of the Hawks.
Pre-season training started on Wednesday, and the Hawks are scheduled to play their first friendly fixture against Sheffield Hawks on Saturday, February 22.
Liam told the Stray Ferret that the club welcomes new recruits:
We’re always on the lookout for new players, experienced or not. For example, our first training session last night was an open one with the hope anyone with interest that has seen our social posts would come down and see what the club is about.
Harrogate Hawks train every Wednesday from 6:45pm. League games are expected to be played either Friday nights or Saturday afternoons.
If you are interested in joining Harrogate Hawks, you can contact them via their Facebook or Instagram pages, or email them on harrogatehawksrl@gmail.com.
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