Deon’s big turnaround at Hornets
IN the space of a couple of months, Deon Cross has gone from the community game to preparing to face one of the most talked about clubs in rugby league.
The centre has had a whirlwind 2018 so far as he started the year off at St Helens-based amateur side Blackbrook following his release from the Saints academy.
Ant Walker had been coaching Cross and recommended him to Alan Kilshaw, which led to him joining Rochdale Hornets on a trial basis.
He featured against Warrington Wolves during pre-season, and did enough to secure a permanent deal at the Crown Oil Arena with the unenviable task of filling the void left by the departure of Lewis Galbraith.
That challenge was taken in his stride though, as he cemented a regular starting spot for Hornets after impressing on the left edge.
Now, the youngster was set to face a star studded Toronto Wolfpack last night (Friday) in one of the biggest games of his career so far, admitting he has to pinch himself when he looks back at how far he has progressed.
“It’s a big difference from playing Saturday afternoon rugby at amateur level,” Cross said.
“I’m looking forward to it, I’m excited and it will be a good experience for me. It gives me the chance to test myself against some really good players.
“Preparations are going really well, we trained really hard on Tuesday night and Killer has put us through our paces.
“He has prepared us the best he can and we’re all really looking forward to Friday.”
The Canadian outfit are currently fourth in the Championship table, having won four and drawn one of their opening six fixtures.
Hornets got their first league victory against Barrow Raiders two weeks ago, and it was a special afternoon for Cross as he scored his first try for the club, although thanks to a great offload from his winger it came as something of a surprise.
“I wasn’t expecting to get the ball, I just saw that Rob (Massam) managed to get his arm free and I just thought I better dive and hope for the best. It worked out well and I really enjoyed getting over for hopefully the first of many tries for the club.
“It was good to get the win, and hopefully that gives us a chance to crack on for the rest of the season.”
That victory was backed up by a hard-fought Challenge Cup tie over Normanton Knights, as Rochdale snuck past the amateur side 20-8.
Cross was crucial in a dominant first half as his break led to Danny Yates’ try, however the home side rallied to push Hornets all the way as the snow began to fall at the LD Nutrition Stadium.
“The conditions were quite tough with the snow in the second half, and it really tested us mentally and physically as well,” he continued.
“Normanton are a good outfit, and in the second half they defended really well and kept us from scoring.”
After getting the initial nerves of settling into a new team out of the way, Deon is hoping to string together some good performances and repay the faith of the coaching staff that brought him to the club.
“I’m really enjoying it now, I feel like I have settled in really well in the squad and hopefully now I can find a bit of consistency playing each week.
“I think the trip to Toulouse was what got me so close to all the lads and I got to know everyone a bit better. It was a good experience, even though we didn’t get the result playing against some quality players.”