Hornets in partnership with Mayfield

ROCHDALE Hornets have announced a new, formalised working relationship with local amateur side Rochdale Mayfield.

The new partnership has been organised with clear objectives to aid both clubs, including a joint bid to redevelop facilities at Mayfield, free Hornets season tickets for every junior player and the use of Mayfield’s facilities for Hornets’ captain’s run training sessions in the spring and summer. The two sides will also contest a Battle of the Borough pre-season fixture in January, competing for the Stephen Gartland Memorial Trophy, named in memory of the club legend who sadly passed away in 2016 and had represented Oldham, Rochdale and Swinton at professional level.

Hornets CEO Steve Kerr said: “This is probably the most important partnership arrangement I have worked on since I arrived at the club, because it is vitally important that, for the good of rugby league in the borough of Rochdale, both Hornets and Mayfield are singing from the same hymn sheet and that means working together to develop pathways for children, supporting talented athletes and promoting rugby league throughout the borough.

“Rochdale Mayfield are one of the best community clubs around and you see that both in the number of teams they field on a weekly basis and the quality of players that have passed through that club to go on and play at a high level. As a professional club I think we have been guilty of not celebrating that enough.

“I have a good relationship with Simon Howe, the chairman over at Mayfield, and we have had many a conversation centred on how we can improve things going forward and ultimately it comes down to both clubs knocking down the wall and working together for the benefit of rugby league in Rochdale and the surrounding area.”