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Christmas message from the Board

Christmas message from Swinton Lions

On behalf of the Board of Directors, coaching, backroom and playing staff, I would like to wish all our sponsors, business partners and fantastic supporters a happy, healthy and peaceful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

This time of the year means different things to different people and for me Christmas is a time for family, a time to reflect on the previous 12 months. To bring that closer to home our values at family Lions is never more evident at this time of year. The main highlights for me were the jubilation of the Whitehaven and Halifax games which cemented our Championship status in a healthy 10th position, the Lionesses being competitive in a tough Championship, and the Lions’ Development Pathway Under 18s playing their first game.

Looking ahead to 2024, I am sure everyone is excited at the thought of the new season under new Head Coach Alan Kilshaw with an experienced backroom staff and a strong playing squad. I know first hand that pre-season is going well, with a positive ethos within the squad.

The Lionesses are recruiting well and Head Coach Steve Thirkell is supported by a solid backroom staff.

Our off-field development programmes and Foundation continue to grow and watch out for further news.

You will have seen IMG indicative gradings take shape as the sport in general needs to change and grow. As a Board of Directors, we are working towards raising our standards in conjunction with each pillar of the IMG grading criteria, ensuring long term sustainability of the club and it is vital we travel on this journey together.

Christmas can also be a painful and sad time for many families, particularly for people who have suffered bereavement over the past year. Our thoughts are with family Lions members who have suffered such sad losses.

Well-being is a core fabric of the Lions’ values and I would encourage people to rally round their family, friends and neighbours and provide them with the help and support that they may need so they are not on their own during the festive period.

Christmas is a time for us all to recharge our batteries ready ourselves for the challenges that lie ahead in 2024 and I look forward to us family Lions being on an exciting journey together in 2024, and hope to see as many as possible at the season launch on 26th January at Heywood Road.

Stuart Fletcher
Chairman
On behalf of the Board

News

LIONS AND SAINTS CONFIRM DR

Swinton Lions and St Helens Dual Registration Agreement to continue in 2024

We are delighted to confirm that our Dual Registration agreement with St Helens will be extended into 2024!

This will be the second season of the arrangement, which in 2023 saw players such as George Delaney, Ben Davies, Matty Foster, Wes Bruines, Will Roberts, Lewis Baxter, Dan Norman and Sam Royle appear in Swinton Lions colours. The arrangement proved of great value to both clubs, who struck up a great working relationship.

Swinton Lions CEO, Steve Wild, said, “I’m delighted that our DR arrangement with St Helens will continue into season 2024. St Helens is a top club in every respect and it’s been a great experience for us at Swinton Lions to be working so closely with them.

“The partnership worked really well last season during which time we were thrilled to play a part in the development of young players such as George Delaney and several others. And of course our squad’s playing strength received a substantial boost at the same time.

“Our two clubs have struck up a great relationship based on respect, friendship and mutual benefit and long may it continue.”

Swinton Head Coach, Alan Kilshaw, was also delighted at the news. He said, “We are very grateful to Mike Rush and Paul Wellens for working with us to extend our partnership for the 2024 season.

“The arrangement worked well last season and I’m hoping we can develop it even further. There are benefits for both clubs and I’m confident that we will continue to work well alongside each other to make our DR agreement a great success.”

Saints’ Head Coach, Paul Wellens, added, “We are delighted to have our dual-registration agreement with Swinton Lions continue into the 2024 season. The partnership allows some of our players to gain valuable match minutes in a highly competitive Championship, evidenced last season by George Delaney’s rise.

“George took that opportunity with Swinton and it was beneficial for both parties. Any player that gets their chance with the Lions, we expect to match our standards as they are representing both clubs.

“The partnership continues to flourish, and we are excited to be working together again in the 2024 season.”

News

SAINTS v LIONS IN SEASON OPENER!

Swinton Lions face mouth-watering visit to St Helens!

Our 2024 season will be launched with a first-ever visit to the Totally Wicked Stadium early in the new year, for a high-profile pre-season friendly against Super League giants St Helens!

The match will take place on Saturday 20th January with a 2pm kick-off, as Alan Kilshaw’s new-look Lions finalise preparations ahead of our first competitive game eight days later at North Wales Crusaders.

Tickets priced Adults £10, Concessions £5, and Juniors £3, are available via the ticketing page on the St Helens RLFC official website.

https://www.eticketing.co.uk/saintsrlfc/Events

News

RUN WITH THE PRIDE – LIONS REVEAL 2024 KITS!

Run with the Pride – Swinton Lions’ and Lionesses’ new look for the 2024 season

At Swinton Lions RLFC, in association with our new technical kit partners Patrick, we are delighted to reveal our brand new home and away playing strip – colours which will be worn by both our Lions and Lionesses in season 2024!

Our principal jersey, which features a white double-chevron on navy blue, is a hark back to strong traditions at Swinton; whilst our pale green alternative jersey is something completely new and fresh and synonymous with summer rugby. We have confidence that both shirts will be a hit with our loyal fans.

We would especially like to thank all of our shirt sponsors, including our headline club sponsor Glossop Caravans, but also established sponsors Daisymill Technologies, Camway Installations, Primus Traffic Management, Seed Architects and Roadflash, as well as new sponsors Vesta Care UK, Regin Group and Heyrod Construction, for their outstanding faith in Swinton Lions which we plan to reward on and off the field in 2024.

Look out for details via our official channels on how to obtain your replicas!

News

2024 Team Wear Update

2024 Team Wear Update

At Swinton Lions we would like to thank our supporters for your patience in awaiting information regarding our 2024 match play jerseys, as well as our 2024 training wear and other merchandise.

We have been working flat out behind the scenes with our very supportive commercial partners, including our new kit suppliers Patrick, and all of our much valued team wear sponsors.

We can now provide the following update.

• A pop-up shop will take place at Folly Lane ARLFC on Fraser Street, Pendlebury M27 4DH, this coming Sunday (17th), from 1pm until 4pm. Various items of 2024 merchandise will be available, but not 2024 replica playing shirts. More information, including training wear imagery, will follow within the next 24 hours. Our thanks is extended to our friends at Folly for facilitating this event.

• We will be releasing images of our 2024 playing kit ahead of the pop-up shop, and it will be possible to purchase vouchers to swap later for replica shirts, either at the pop-up shop, or via our website’s ticketing page. We will advise again as soon as voucher sales are “live” on the website.

• We expect replica shirts to be available in January.

• There will be an official season launch event at our Heywood Road Stadium, on Friday evening 26th January. Everyone welcome. More detailed information will follow soon, but again replica shirts and other merchandise will be available at this event.

News

Lions Talent Pathway augurs well for future!

Young Lions to make history!

The Swinton Lions LTP (Lions Talent Pathway) Under 16s and Under 18s completed their preparations for 2023 last Saturday with fantastic high quality training delivered in some of the most inclement weather seen this year. The session took place at the excellent facilities of Wright Robinson Sports College in Manchester.

The Under 18s will now finish the year with a game against Leigh Leopards next Saturday (2.30pm kick-off at Leigh East ARLFC), whilst the Under 16s will be playing Leigh and Rochdale respectively in January.

Damian Ridpath, the Lions’ Director of Development, said, “Saturday was a fantastic session to finish the year. Our LTP program has now engaged over 120 young players this year between the ages of 12 and 18 and it’s a real success story for the club. The commitment of the 30 players who attended on Saturday couldn’t be faulted, especially in such bad weather. A special thank you to the coaches Dougie Owen, Sam Pennington, Ryan Berry, Lewis Hart, Mark Robinson and Gareth Pratt who have all delivered sessions throughout 2023.

“Also a special thankyou to Gareth Thomas at Wright Robinson Sports College who helped organise the use of the fantastic facilities for us to use. We have built our LTP patiently over the past three years and we now have games with young players representing Swinton Lions, outside of our senior professional team, for the first time in over 25 years since we had an Academy team during our days at Gigg Lane. It’s a real statement of our growing off-field development policy for both our Foundation and parent club to be putting these building blocks in place to help develop the Lions of the future.”

News

AB SUNDECKS 1895 CUP – Fixtures & Format 2024

Lions look to break Wembley hoodoo (again!)

The Lions will kick-off their competitive fixtures in 2024 with a visit to North Wales Crusaders in the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup on Sunday 28 January – venue and kick-off time to be advised.

This game against last year’s League 1 promotion play-off finalists is part of a new-look 1895 Cup, which comprises of seven groups, each containing three clubs, who play each other once on a round-robin basis. The seven group winners then progress to the quarter-finals, alongside the runner-up with the best playing record from the group stages.

A week later at Heywood Road (4th February @ 3pm), Swinton will face Widnes in what is sure to be an emotional reunion with some old friends as well as a cracking and attractive match! Both the Lions and the Vikings will feel North Wales are beatable, therefore the group winners may well be decided by the showdown at Heywood Road.

The Lions got to within one game of Wembley back in 2021 when we went down in a semi-final at York after defeating Newcastle Thunder and Oldham. But that effort aside, the 1895 Cup has not been particularly kind to us and Wembley continues to elude us.

However, an optimistic Swinton Head Coach, Alan Kilshaw, said, “The new structure gives everyone a genuine chance of progression to Wembley, which presents every club with a great opportunity.

“We want to be competitive in every game and competition we play in, and the 1895 Cup in the new year will be no different. The two teams we have been paired with we know well, and there will be plenty of motivation on all sides for all sorts of reasons! We are really looking forward to the battles ahead!”

Ticket information for both games will be announced soon.

News

Lions & Patrick announce partnership!

LIONS ANNOUNCE PATRICK UK AS NEW TECHNICAL PARTNERS

At Swinton Lions we are delighted to confirm a four-year agreement with Patrick UK who with immediate effect will become our official team-wear and merchandising partner.

Patrick UK will now provide all of the Lions’ and Lionesses’ playing kit, training wear and matchday wear, as well as afull range of high-quality Patrick branded products for our supporters.

The Lions’ CEO, Steve Wild, “As a famous old club steeped in history, we think there’s a definite symmetry in partnering with such a well-known brand within the public consciousness as Patrick. In fact I well remember wearing their boots back in my Sunday League days almost 40 years ago!

“At each step in our negotiations we have been impressed with Patrick’s attention to detail and willingness to engage with our specific business needs at this moment in time. We have already worked together closely on our 2024 kit designs, and our coaching staff have been impressed with the standard of training wear that our players will shortly be wearing.

Our fans have always been proud to wear Swinton Lions branded gear, and I’ve no doubt they will be impressed with Patrick products once sales go live shortly.

We have major ambitions to grow the Lions brand right across Greater Manchester, and we know that Patrick UK will be with us at every step of the way.

Gary and Steve Dixon, owners of the Patrick brand, said, We’re thrilled to be working with Swinton Lions RLFC and further extend our portfolio of clubs in Rugby League. We look forward to seeing the players and fans donning their new Patrick kits soon.”

John Carden, MD of Sports Hub Group which owns a long term licence with the Patrick UK brand, added, This is a very proud moment, not just for the ever-growing Patrick brand, but further cementing our status back within Rugby League. We’re delighted to welcome Swinton Lions into the Patrick family and look forward to a positive future together.”

A brief history of Patrick

The Patrick story started in 1892 when Eugene Beneteau opened his shoe and leather factory in a small town in France. In the 1920s, his son Patrice took over and made shoes for his local football team. Patrice did such a fantastic job that word soon spread to other teams, and the Patrick brand was born.

The national rugby monitor for Patrick France was Robert Poulain, who tested the functionality and durability of Patrick’s rugby collection. For years, he was the reference for quality footwear in rugby. He helped to develop a line of Poulain junior and senior footwear and elevated the game through research and progressive adjustments to these shoes.

We enjoyed creating iconic rugby kits for the rugby league division. We are delighted to announce today that we’re re-entering the rugby league universe with the ambition to partner with like-minded, forward-thinking clubs like Swinton Lions and to create future iconic kits.

News

Lions confirm coaching and backroom team

Head Coach Alan Kilshaw brings in Darren Abram, Paul Anderson and Miles Greenwood

Ahead of our return to training this coming Thursday, we can now confirm the make-up of our new Head Coach Alan Kilshaw’s coaching and back-room team.

Appointed in the roles of Assistant Coach are Darren Abram and Paul Anderson, whilst Miles Greenwood joins us in the capacity of Head of Strength and Conditioning.

We are also extremely pleased to confirm that our fantastic pre-existing medical team, including physiotherapists Rachael Johnson and Sasha Cooke, together with doctors Joe Arthur and Ben Stride will remain in place. The legendary Norman Brown also remains as an invaluable member of our back-room staff, as does our kit man Chris Gettins. A special mention also for Dougie Owen, who will combine duties assisting both our first team in an S&C role, together with our Foundation, for which he is Head of Youth Development.

Stephen Johnson will continue in his multi-faceted role which assists the media team as well as the Board and coaching staff, and young Lewis Hart will stay on in a masseur role.

 

New appointees

Darren Abram – Assistant Coach

Darren had an extensive playing career, most notably with Rochdale, Oldham and Lancashire Lynx, but he also played a single game for the Lions back in season 1987/88. As a coach he won the National League Grand Final with Leigh Centurions, and was also in charge at Rochdale for a spell. He is the father of the Lions’ full-back, Dan Abram.

Upon his appointment Darren said, “I was honoured when Alan asked me to be a member of his coaching staff at the Lions. I have known Alan for many years, and in fact I actually coached him at Leigh Academy in one of my first coaching roles in the professional game. Alan has since developed into one of the game’s best young coaches, and lives and breathes rugby league. I have also seen over the past couple of seasons how passionate and hard working the Swinton Board, fans and sponsors are. With this continued passion from the directors, coaching staff, players, sponsors and fans we will be a united club, supporting each other, along what we hope will be a successful journey.”

Alan Kilshaw said of Darren, “Darren is someone who I have worked with informally for a few seasons now. He has been a valued mentor to me and always a great person to bounce ideas off. As soon as I accepted the Swinton job he was the first phone call I made as it was important for me to have someone of his knowledge and experience on board with me. He is very good both technically and tactically, and knows the competition inside out having coached at this level for a number of years. He also had a stint in Super League after getting Leigh promoted in a part-time environment. Obviously there is a family connection with Dan in the squad, so hopefully we can have a similar success to that enjoyed by the Clearys and the Lams!”

 

Paul Anderson – Assistant Coach

Also joining the club in an Assistant Coach capacity is Paul Anderson. Paul enjoyed an long playing career which began in 1995 with St Helens. After playing nearly 50 games for the Saints he then enjoyed success with his hometown club Leigh, for whom he played over 100 times as a forward between 1999 and 2002. He also had spells with Sheffield Eagles, Oldham, Rochdale and Blackpool Panthers. After his playing days ended, he then undertook an extensive coaching career with Leigh.

Following his appointment, Paul said, “I’m really looking forward to the 2024 season and working with the squad, staff and Board at Swinton Lions. It’s a club which is steeped in history and I believe there are exciting times ahead. Hopefully we can play a part in growing the fan base at this great club through our effort and performances on the field. I can’t wait to get started!”

Alan Kilshaw explained Paul’s credentials. He said “Paul is someone we identified after looking for someone who can come in and lead on our defence. He has held roles at Leigh and comes with some really good references. Myself and Darren went to meet him and it quickly became apparent that we were all connected on how we want the team to train and play. For me, it’s important to get people in who have been at different clubs and in different environments so we can all learn off each other. His experience and bringing that knowledge to Swinton can only have a positive impact on the club as a whole. He has recently had a small break away from coaching to develop in his role in education and to assist in the development of his son who is at St Helens academy, but he is now ready to get back into a role which is perfect timing for us.”

Miles Greenwood – Head of Strength and Conditioning (S&C)

During his playing career as a full-back or winger, Miles was a prolific scorer of tries at Halifax, Batley and his hometown club, Oldham. At the end of his playing days, Miles then set out to establish himself as a highly respected professional in the field of strength and conditioning.

After joining the Lions, Miles said, “I can’t wait to get started with the lads! The team that Alan has assembled has an exciting mix of experience and youth and I think we can challenge teams and cause some upsets. But it’s going to be tough, and we all know how competitive the league is. However it’s a challenge that the coaching staff and players are more than up for.”

Alan Kilshaw added, “I have worked with Miles previously at Rochdale and last season at Hunslet. Miles is excellent at what he does. He gets the group fit and strong and challenges them, but he also makes it highly enjoyable which is a huge part of training at semi-professional level. He gives players ownership for their own progress after setting initial standards which they all follow. I am really happy to bring Miles to the club as I know we have had some really good results together in the past with the groups we have worked with, and I’m confident we can continue that trend at Swinton.”

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