Eagles PDRL Inaugural Season Gets Underway

19/04/2024

This weekend sees the 2024 Physical Disability Rugby League season kick off in Hull, with the Sheffield Eagles team set to compete for the very first time.

The Eagles Foundation launched PDRL in the city in the Summer of 2023, holding sessions on Friday evenings at Olympic Legacy Park. After months of hard work, players from Sheffield will don the famous Red and Gold and begin the Eagles’ competitive PDRL journey at West Hull Community Sports Centre on Saturday afternoon.

PDRL is a modified contact variant of rugby league for people with a range of physical disabilities who want to access a running format of the game. PDRL has seen significant growth in recent years in part due to England’s PDRL World Cup Success in 2022, and high profile ambassadors of the game, such as comedian and presenter Adam Hills, who plays for Warrington Wolves. Domestic fixtures take place in a festival format in a single location each month, with clubs playing two matches at each event. In 2024, there will also be dedicated junior activity at each festival, with young people from the Eagles’ regular PDRL sessions taking part.

Saturday’s action gets underway from 1:30pm, with the Eagles taking on Bradford Bulls. Warrington Wolves will be the opposition for the Eagles’ second and final match of the day, which will round up the day at 4pm.

Eagles Foundation Disability Inclusion Officer, Jack Pemberton, said: “After a few months of recruiting and hard work in our regular sessions, it will be fantastic for our players to be part of a PD festival for the first time. Training and practice has been brilliant, but games and competition against others is another level, and being part of these events at last will be a huge boost for all of our participants. We hope this weekend will inspire more people in South Yorkshire to come and give PDRL a go.

“We have two tough matches – Bradford have been established for a couple of years now, and Warrington are one of the pioneers of PDRL, but the results aren’t what’s important for us at such an early stage of our PD journey. We’re just absolutely delighted to have adults and young people with disabilities playing, learning and enjoying rugby league.”

Sheffield Eagles Squad for PDRL Round 1, Hull:

Alfie Holmes

Ethan McNicholas

James Steers

Simon Travis

Ben Wilson

There will be updates from the Hull PDRL Festival on Eagles Foundation social media channels throughout the day on Saturday to keep supporters up to date. Follow the Eagles Foundation:

X (Formerly Twitter) - @Eagles_Found

Instagram - @theeaglesfoundation

Facebook – Eagles Foundation