South Wales Scorpions captain Phil Carleton can’t wait for the big kick off on Sunday when his side take on Kingstone Press Championship 1 favourites Oldham Roughyeds at Maesteg RFC (kick-off 3pm).
The northern side missed out on promotion last year after losing in the play-off final to local rivals Rochdale Hornets and the 29-year old forward knows that this will make a tough game even tougher for him and his Welsh team-mates.
“We see Oldham as one of the league favourites and with that obviously see this as a real test,” Carelton said. “But we play this sport to test ourselves against the best, so all the squad are really looking forward to it and we’re hoping for a big support at The Old Parish to cheer us on.
“For some of the boys it will be their first professional game of Rugby League and I know they are really excited to get going. The aim is to get into the arm wrestle and stay in there till someone cracks and makes a mistake. And when it comes, that mistake will hopefully be made by Oldham.
“I know that they’re a tough side. They’ll have wanted to have got promoted last season and were unfortunate not to be. I've played Oldham many times over the years and think I’m about 50/50 on wins and losses. But every time I've played them it has always been a real physical encounter and I know I've been in a fight.”
The big difference in the Scorpions squad this year compared to previous years is that all the players have turned out for Wales at one level or another. With two full Welsh internationals in Jack Pring and Ashley Bateman, complemented by a whole host of Wales Dragonhearts, Student and youth internationals, it has made for a close and united squad in pre-season training.
“To my knowledge, everyone is Welsh qualified,” said Carleton, a Welsh Student international who, being born in North-East England is one of only three non Welsh born players in the entire squad.
“Although Chris Vitalini, while born in Newport and played for Wales under 19s, now tends to go for his Italian connections and I’m sure in looking forward to his trip to Ukraine in July to play for them again!
“The fact we are all Welsh based means we are all at training and close. We will hopefully see the difference when times get hard on the field as it will be a tough season. As a squad we know this doesn't guarantee us a victory or faultless performances every week but if it means we play for one another and for the fans, giving 100%, then we'll settle for that and I hope the fans will too.”
South Wales Scorpions season tickets start at just £5 for juniors and go up to £70 for adults, and can be bought by going towww.scorpionsrl.com. Match tickets for their first game of the season when they entertain Oldham Roughyeds on Sunday 2nd March, can also be bought.
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