Season 2007

Promotion after play-off final victory over Oldham

The season started with a real upturn in the fortunes at Post Office Road.  Local businessmen – Tony Kenny, Mark Campbell and Alan Nicholls created a Friends of Featherstone group which injected capital into the team and ground.  This enabled the signing of scrum-half Paul Handforth, second rows Jamie Field and Tommy Haughey and winger Jon Whittle – all players with super league experience.  As the season progressed Matty Dale, Loz Wildbore, Andy Kain and Ade Adebisi were all brought in.  

There was an expectation that Rovers would now stroll out of NL2 but it didn’t prove so easy.  Big spending Celtic Crusaders had also recruited well and in two crucial games they did the double over Rovers.  Notably they dominated the effective automatic promotion decider at Post Road Office at the end of July, to record a demoralising 32 – 12 victory over Rovers in front of the Sky TV cameras.  Rovers now had to battle through the play-offs for the second promotion spot.  Thankfully Barrow were dispatched in the semi-final, and then Oldham were defeated 24-6 in an entertaining game at Headingley in the final to gain promotion.

All the new recruits did well.  Handforth and Kain proved a quality half-back pairing which meant the platform created by Tonks, Dickens and company could be exploited.  Richard Blakeway had his best year at the club and young Danny Kirmond showed what a talented player he was in racking up 25 tries.