T'Other Side: Dewsbury Rams

  

Head Coach: Paul March 

Dewsbury originally appointed Dale Ferguson as their head coach for 2024, but Dale asked to step down from coaching but to continue as a player and he was succeeded by Paul March.

Paul March was player-coach at York (2008 to 2009), then Hunslet (2009-2011). In 2012 he joined Keighley as a player and assistant coach and then as head coach from 2013 to 2016. In 2019 he came to Featherstone where he combined working for the Rovers Foundation with various assistant coaching roles including taking charge of the team for their victorious 1895 Cup Final at Wembley in 2021.

As a player, he was a tenacious halfback and begun his first-grade career with Wakefield Trinity in 1997. In 2002 he moved to Huddersfield Giants and then back to Wakefield in 2007. The rest of his playing career was as player-coach (see above).

 

Captain: Matt Garside 

Paul Sykes was the Dewsbury captain from 2016 until 2021 and again in 2023 and 2024, and although he is continuing as a player at the age of 43, Matt Garside has taken over as captain. He first played for Dewsbury, on loan from Halifax in 2022 and then signed for Dewsbury in 2023. He usually plays in the second row. Before he joined Halifax in 2022 he had played for Newcastle, York, Sheffield, London Broncos and Bradford.

He is also an assistant coach at Dewsbury this year.

 

Loans

Dewsbury have taken Jack Delaney (prop) on a season long loan from Wakefield.

 

The Fev Connection

Player moves between Dewsbury and Fev have been very common, and we know of 144 players who have appeared for both clubs. 

Richard Chapman (hooker) who was born in Featherstone, began his first-grade career with Sheffield Eagles in 1994. In 1996 he had a brief loan spell at Dewsbury, followed by playing for Bordeaux in the French Elite competition and then signed for Fev in 1997. He played 240 times for Fev, scored 104 tries, kicked 128 goals and 3 drop goals for a total of 675 points. In 2004 he had a loan spell at Dewsbury and then was signed by them in 2005. At Dewsbury he totalled 75 games, 37 tries, 9 goals and 3 drop goals and 169 points. In April 2008 he transferred to Hunslet and in 2011 he transferred back to Dewsbury, his last games before he retired.

 

Hooker, Joe Golby, who was born in Streethouse, signed for Fev, in 1938, at the age of 30. In 1940 he played in the Yorkshire Cup final which brought Fev their first ever trophy. He played 118 times and scored 5 tries.

He had begun his career with Dewsbury in 1929. He joined Wigan in 1934, played for Hull in 1942 and finished his career with Wakefield in the 1944-45 season.

 

Harry Street (loose forward) was born in Castleford but his first club was Fev but he only played, at that time, in our junior side. In 1945 he signed for St. Helens and then was at Dewsbury from 1949 to 1951. From 1951 to 1955 he played for Wigan (a transfer which equalled the then record of £5,000) and from 1955 to 1957, Leeds. Finally, he came home and played 12 games for Fev in 1958.

His remarkable career included caps for Great Britain, England and Yorkshire.

He was also a highly regarded as a coach at Castleford, Keighley, Huddersfield and Bradford Northern and coached the Yorkshire team for nine years.

His two brothers, Arthur and Bill also played for Rovers and Arthur also had 4 seasons playing for Dewsbury.