MATCH PREVIEW: GOOLE VIKINGS (A) - LEAGUE ONE (ROUND ONE)

Canes to make history as Goole’s first Betfred League One opponents

After a rigorous pre-season and no fewer than five pre-season fixtures, the Midlands Hurricanes will begin their Betfred League One campaign by travelling to the league’s newest addition in Goole Vikings. With the traditional play-off system swapped out for a form of the Super 8’s system that was used in the Super League between 2015 and 2018, both the Canes and the Vikings will go into this game knowing that this might be the toughest version of League One to get promoted out of, meaning it will be crucial for both teams to seek to open their account early.

Whilst the league is all the Canes have to focus on following being knocked out of both the Challenge Cup and the 1895 Cup, it would be fair to say that the Midlands club have had a strong start to the season and will go into this game confident that - if they execute the game plan correctly - they could leave the Victoria Pleasure Ground with their first two points of the season. An early pre-season friendly visit to Batley saw the Canes emerge 34-30 victors, and that effort was continued with emphatic 46-0 and 52-24 victories over Siddal and Whitehaven.

The victory over Siddal earned Midlands a mouth-watering Third Round tie with Super League’s Salford Red Devils, and a record Alexander Stadium crowd of 985 saw the Canes match their Super League opponents for large parts of the game before eventually succumbing to a 46-10 defeat. The victory over Whitehaven the week prior meant the Canes had to face Keighley Cougars a week after the Salford defeat, and a combination of injuries to key players and the inevitable impact of a bruising set of fixtures meant Head Coach Mark Dunning opted to send a much-changed team to Cougar Park. Despite these changes, a youthful and ambitious Midlands squad matched Keighley for the full 80 minutes, with only a drop-goal from Izaac Farrell in the 71st minute separating the sides and eliminating the Canes from the 1895 Cup.

Whilst our opponents were formally started in 2018, the original Goole rugby league team existed as early as 1879 (originally as a rugby union side before joining the Northern Football Union in 1898) before disbanding in 1902. An amateur team attempted to resurrect league in Goole in 1936, but this club disbanded shortly thereafter in 1938. This iteration of rugby league in Goole had competed (and will continue to compete) in the Yorkshire Men’s League for seven seasons, but were one of a number of clubs that expressed an interest in joining Betfred League One for the 2025 season. They, along with Anglian Vipers and Bedford Tigers, were the only three clubs to submit formal bids to the Rugby Football League and the only club to emerge successful at the end of the process.

The Vikings are headed up by a former England international in ex Hull-KR, Wigan Warriors and Hull FC prop Scott Taylor, and have assembled an impressive squad packed with Super League, Championship and League One experience. Notable mentions within Goole’s squad include Hull FC stalwart Jamie Shaul, their Captain Brett Ferres and former Leeds and Hull KR centre Thomas Minns. Goole can also claim to have some of the oldest players playing professional rugby league within their ranks, including 40-year old Andy Ellis (who last played professionally for York in 2019) and 43-year old Misi Taulapapa (who was playing for Championship outfit Doncaster before signing for the Vikings).

The Vikings themselves have already competed four times in 2025, succumbing to a 46-6 friendly loss to Featherstone Rovers before going on to shock a depleted London Broncos side with a 17-10 victory in the Second Round of the Challenge Cup. That victory earned the Vikings a Third Round clash with Super League’s Wakefield Trinity, with the newly promoted club advancing into the Fourth Round following a comprehensive 82-0 win. This defeat did not dissuade Goole, as the very next week they beat fellow League One club North Wales Crusaders 26-20 in the Second Preliminary Round of the 1895 Cup.

Mark Dunning will be pleased to be able to bring back a number of players either unavailable or rested for last week’s clash with Keighley, however he will still be without Sam Bowring (knee) and Josh Jordan-Roberts (shoulder) who suffered potentially long-term injuries during pre-season. Whilst the club recently agreed to terminate winger Travis Corion’s contract early into the season, Mark will be delighted that he was able to find a suitable replacement in Welsh international Luis Roberts.

21-Man Squads:

Goole Vikings
2 -Tom Holliday
3 - Josh Guzdek
4 - Thomas Minns
5 - Manoa Wacokecoke
6 - Mackenzie Harman
7 - Reece Dean
10 - Jack Aldous
11 - Brett Ferres
12 - Bailey Dawson
14 - Misi Taulapapa
15 - Alex Holdstock
17 - Jack Coventry
18 - Tyler Craig
19 - Callum Shaw
20 - Ben Dent
22 - Mike Ogunwole
24 - Callum Rutland
25 - Ryan Wright
26 - Lennie Ellis
27 - Leo Tennison
29 - Jamie Shaul

Midlands Hurricanes
1 - Todd Horner (Sponsored by Yorkshire Ceiling Services)
3 - Ryan Johnson (Sponsored by Crypto Construction)
4 - Ross Oakes (Sponsored by Geoff and Maureen Hammond)
6 - Jake Sweeting (Sponsored by In Memory of Robert & Stephen Sweeting)
7 - Callum McLelland (C) (Available to Sponsor)
8 - Jon-Luke Kirby (VC) (Sponsored by EJ Interiors Ltd)
9 - Danny Barcoe (Sponsored by St Katherine’s Carpets)
11 - Tom Wilkinson (Sponsored by JW Visual)
13 - Mikey Wood (Sponsored by MG Electrical Contractors Ltd)
14 - Aiden Roden (Sponsored by Enjoy Travel Group)
15 - Aaron Willis (Available to Sponsor)
16 - Ellis Hobson (Sponsored by GLLEE UK Ltd)
17 - Kieran Moran (Available to Sponsor)
18 - Zeus Silk (Sponsored by This is Warrior)
19 - Marcus Green (Available to Sponsor)
20 - Elliott Morris (Sponsored by GLR Energy Ltd)
21 - Sullivan Medforth (Sponsored by Ideal Building Systems)
22 - Jose Kenga (Sponsored by Lonbridge Taiho Jutsu)
24 - Matty Hanley (Sponsored by JGE Wholesale)
25 - Luis Roberts (Sponsored by Crypto Construction)
00 - Joe Hartley (Loan)

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