Harling at helm for new venture
Hornets act swiftly to fill key position
MICHAEL Harling will lead Rochdale next year in their first season in the Lancashire League.
The Dale committee moved quickly to appoint the former Redbrook junior after last season’s skipper, Dale Highton, announced that he was leaving after five years at the club.
Oli Makin will be Harling’s vice captain while other senior players have been designated important roles at the club. Ben Chapman, Steve Oddy – who made his name at Rochdale, and now returns after nine seasons in the Lancashire County League – and Andrew Dawson will comprise a Leadership Team, with duties extending to assisting in coaching players at all levels
This follows rapidly on the heels of Dale signing Ed Moore as their professional next year.
Moore, a left hand opening bat, hails from Eastern Province and comes on the recommendation of Rochdale legend Dave Callaghan.
Rochdale chairman Mark Reynolds is already looking forward to the new challenge.
“We are pleased that important positions are being filled,” he said.
“Michael is a cricketing enthusiast and been a Rochdale player since he was a junior. We are sure that he is the right man to lead us into the new era.’’
As far as the signing of Moore is concerned, Reynolds is equally pleased.
“As soon as Henry (Cooper, last year’s professional) told us he was unable to commit we moved swiftly to secure Ed’s services. We are sure he is a terrific acquisition.”
Ian Gilbertson, who led Rochdale Seconds to the Pennine League Second Division title last year, will continue in the role, while veteran Paul Butterworth takes over leadership of the 3rd XI.
The 2017 season celebrations at Rochdale Cricket Club ended with Rochdale bowling legend, Neil Avery, being honoured with a tribute board. The board, made by Neville Greenhalgh of Rochdale, was presented by club president, Alistair Bolingbroke. It depicts Neil’s 22 years in the Central Lancashire League, first with Castleton Moor CC then Rochdale CC claiming a massive total of 1417 wickets (1207 of which were for Rochdale) a league record for an amateur. Neil also captained the team from 1993 to 1996, winning the Lancashire Cup, the Lancashire Challenge Cup and also five League titles. ROCHDALE Hornets are pleased to be able to announce that Steve Kerr has been appointed as the club’s new chief executive. He took up his post on Monday, succeeding previous CEO Adam Bates.
Following the departure of Adam at the beginning of November, Steve has help guide the club through the early stages of pre-season. The board acted quickly to appoint Steve, having been impressed with his Ideas, passion for change and the way he has conducted club affairs.
Chairman, Mark Wynn said “Steve is no stranger to the club having helped reshape the Foundation activities and deliver on their promise of getting more people playing rugby league more often. He has worked alongside Adam for the past 6 months and is already up to speed with the day to day activities of running a Rugby Football Club.
“Steve brings a wealth of knowledge to the club from his background in sport management and sports development, he has also worked in the financial sector and brings a new set of skills that will benefit us moving forward.
“We are excited about the change in senior leadership, as it provides the club with a fresh start and stability going into the 2017/18 season”.
Mark went on to thank Adam for his commitment to the role over the past 12 months saying: “We all wish Adam the best for the future following his decision to step down. The pressure of travelling between Rochdale and Nottingham, coupled with the birth of his first child ultimately sees Adam leave the club.
“Adam is one of the good guys and were sorry to see him leave. The club was in good hands with Adam at the helm, and we hope he will be able to get involved with future club activities”.
Steve will officially begin his role on Monday as the CEO of Rochdale Hornets RFLC, a role that incorporates leading the Foundation at a strategic level as well as supporting the board with governance and strategy. For now, Steve’s attention will be firmly placed on the operations of the club as we move ever closer to the start of 2018 season.
On being appointed CEO, Steve said: “I am pleased to be offered the opportunity to lead this historic rugby league club. It has a fantastic heritage, a dedicated volunteer and staffing team and above all a passionate and loyal support. I’m looking forward to working with our supporters and members and to meeting you all at the AGM on the 17th of December.
“Although It hasn’t been and easy few weeks at the club, we’ve been able to navigate through the end of season challenges”.
Steve reassured supporters that it was business as usual despite the change: “I have a great relationship with Head Coach Alan Kilshaw, who has put together an impressive team for the coming season and I’m looking forward to building upon last season’s success”.
When asked about the immediate challenges ahead, Steve was quick to share his simple vision for the club moving forward.
“We can only be successful on the field if we’re successful off it. We have a lot of work to do, but the simplicity of the challenge ahead is to improve on the number of supporters and members coming to the club; increase the number of people playing Rugby League across Rochdale and improve our profile to increase revenue into the club”
Steve gave an insight into what his transition means for the Foundation moving forward.
“I believe it’s in an even stronger position as we move to restructure the club and foundation to ensure better synergy between the community and clubs objectives. I’ll be leading on strategy for both, and for the first time there will be shared actions and outcomes. We will need to bring in some new faces, starting with a new community coach to help deliver on our expanding programmes”.
Steve eluded to the AGM (December 17) as the next big opportunity to get members together as we welcome members to share their thoughts and ideas with the board and Steve.