The long and rich history of Featherstone Rovers Rugby League Football Club

Thursday 24 January 2013

Nathan Graham, Nathan Batty, Nathan Larvin, Loz Wildbore, Ian Hardman

After a long run of Australian full-backs, Rovers have since turned nearer to home for their full-backs. When Michael Rhodes went back to Brisbane after two tidy seasons in the number one shirt, Rovers signed Dewsbury full-back Nathan Graham. Graham had previously played at Bradford, but his career was blighted by a number of dropped bombs in the 1996 Challenge Cup final for which he was unfairly castigated. He rebuilt his confidence admirably at Championship level and over two seasons for Featherstone (2002 and 2003) he missed just a single game. He was a solid tackler on defence, and his bustling running style and eye for a gap served him well. His total of 67 appearances also brought 21 tries. 


Nathan Batty
Rovers’ next full-back also came via Dewsbury and was also called Nathan. Nathan Batty had started his career at Wakefield, but after one year at Dewsbury, Rovers coach Gary Price saw enough potential to bring him to Post Office Road. A whole-hearted player, he appeared in 51 games throughout 2004 and 2005, moving to centre during the 2006 campaign. A serious knee injury hampered his progress and eventually forced him into premature retirement. Batty played a total of 51 games, scoring 12 tries.





Craig Moss
 At the same time, youngster Craig Moss came through the junior ranks, playing 53 games for the first team, filling in at both full-back and occasionally on the wing. Moss then moved on to Keighley.








Nathan Larvin
First choice full-back for the 2006 season was another local youngster, Nathan Larvin, who played in 32 games, scoring 10 tries, before later playing at Hunslet.











Loz Wildbore
Larvin lost his place to Loz Wildbore, signed from Doncaster, although he was originally from Hull. Part of Rovers promotion team in 2007, Loz played 42 games over two seasons, scoring 13 tries. He left Rovers for Widnes, and later played for York and the new South Wales club.
















Ian Hardman

Now in his seventh season since signing from Widnes, Ian Hardman started his career at St. Helens, before being loaned out to Hull KR and then Widnes. To date he has appeared in 145 Rovers matches, scoring 75 tries.








   

No comments:

Post a Comment