North Wales Crusaders take on Hunslet at the South Leeds Stadium on Sunday, April 18 in their pre-season opener ahead of the 2021 campaign.
Check out our match preview for all the important information you need.
UP FRONT
Crusaders’ trip to Hunslet will bring a 406-day wait for rugby league action to an end, with a League 1 clash at the South Leeds Stadium on March 8, 2020 being the last time Anthony Murray’s men took to the field.
North Wales have now been training for a couple of months in preparation for the League 1 opener at London Skolars in early May.
Like Crusaders, Hunslet haven’t played for more than a year, but they’ll be hoping to pick up where they left off in 2020 and pushing for promotion from League 1 in the coming season.
SQUAD NEWS
Murray has named a 19-man squad to take on Hunslet, including five players who have joined the club over the off-season and two trialists.
Crusaders’ boss is looking to give players decent game time during the pre-season schedule so those missing will come back into the frame next weekend at Rochdale Hornets.
Hunslet head coach Gary Thornton has named a 27-man squad for the friendly, with three loan players and three trialists set to be involved.
PRE-MATCH COMMENTS
Murray can’t wait to see what his squad have learned during pre-season when they take to the field at the South Leeds Stadium.
“More than anything, I’m looking forward to getting back to some normality and what we all know,” he said.
“It’s going to be great to get back to the day-to-day business of rugby league and seeing the lads doing what they love.”
Elliott Jenkins believes he and his teammates are in good shape ahead of their pre-season opener at Hunslet.
“We’re all buzzing now to get back out there,” he said. “Just getting back out there and playing against 13 is going to be pretty good.”
FAN INFORMATION
Match passes are available for just £4 so you can watch the friendly between Hunslet and Crusaders live online.
