Pirates campaign grinds to a premature halt

Having had three games already called off this season, the team finish with four unfulfilled fixtures in the 2015 Yorkshire Premier League season in what is a hugely disappointing end to proceedings following their promotion to the top flight last season.

A frustrated player-coach Adam Lee said: “It’s incredibly frustrating having to call games off and not play, all the lads are gutted that the season is finished already.

“With lads on holiday and others injured we can’t even get to games with 15 let alone have subs.”

The decision has been a tough one to take for the club’s player-coach, who is adamant they’d have pushed for honours in the top flight had they fulfilled their fixture list over coming weeks.

Lee continued: “If we hadn’t had these games called off and could have played them, I’m 100% sure that we would have made a play-off place this season, if not gone even further.

“When you speak to other coaches at the games, they’re in the same position that we are.

“With the league being even more summer-based, it’s hard to convince lads to play rugby instead of go on holiday or sit in beer gardens.”

The Pirates currently sit in third position in the Yorkshire Premier League, but are expected to slip down to fifth or sixth due to their imminent abandonments.

Lee added: “It’s sad to see rugby league in the state it is, I’ve played since I was young and I’ve seen some big clubs fold in that time.

“It’s a real shame to see the sport I love falling apart locally.”

Lee’s men were set to play West Hull Lions A this week, but it is the first of their remaining games to be called off.