Doug Thomson

Scotland

Journalist at Rugby League World

Journalist League Express.

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Articles

Allan Coleman delighted to keep hometown hero at Widnes Vikings

6 days ago | totalrl.com | Doug Thomson

WIDNES VIKINGS coach Allan Coleman says hometown hero Matty Fozard is at the heart of his plans to take the club forward. The experienced Widnes-born former St Helens, Sheffield Eagles and London Broncos hooker moved to the Vikings, where he’d had a spell in the development system, in 2022 and has topped 100 appearances for them.
Shay getting new pitch - but Huddersfield Giants’ move could be delayed

6 days ago | totalrl.com | Doug Thomson

HALIFAX PANTHERS are set to play on a new £800,000 hybrid pitch at The Shay later this season. Work on a replacement for a previously-problematic waterlogging-prone surface at the 104-year-old, 10,400-capacity venue, which is also used by football club FC Halifax Town and could at some stage also host Huddersfield Giants, has begun. A £400,000 grant from the Football Foundation has underpinned to project, with the rest of the cost shared by Calderdale Council and the current two tenant clubs.
Kevin Sinfield reveals new locations for latest ultra marathon challenge

1 week ago | totalrl.com | Doug Thomson

KEVIN SINFIELD will take on another seven in seven fundraising running challenge in honour of Rob Burrow in December. But this year’s will take in new locations in the UK and Ireland, with the aim of further spreading awareness of motor neurone disease, helping those living with it and boosting the bid to find a cure. Sinfield began his challenges in 2020, the year after his old Leeds, England and Great Britain teammate Burrow’s diagnosis with the condition which claimed his life at 41 last year.
Batley Bulldogs boss welcomes key returnees

1 week ago | totalrl.com | Doug Thomson

BATLEY BULLDOGS coach Mark Moxon says having captain James Brown and Dane Manning back on the pitch will significantly beef up his pack. While Lucas Walshaw has had a setback on his return from a knee injury after picking up a calf issue in training, fellow second rower Manning has served an eight-match suspension for punching. Fellow long-serving Bulldog and seasoned prop Brown is back to fitness after being absent since mid-April.
Obituary: Jackie Edwards - Warrington’s silky half lost to the game too soon

1 week ago | totalrl.com | Doug Thomson

JACKIE EDWARDS (August 12, 1939 – May 17, 2025)WARRINGTON are mourning Jackie Edwards, the silky scrum-half who was poached from under the noses of his hometown club Wigan and who scored 78 tries in 223 appearances in primrose and blue. Both figures would have been higher had his career not been ended at 24 by a spinal injury.
Outgoing Hunslet commercial guru praised

1 week ago | totalrl.com | Doug Thomson

HUNSLET have hailed the work of Sam Wood in helping them put down even stronger roots at the South Leeds Stadium. The 48-year-old has stepped down as the club’s commercial director after more than two years on the board. Local man Wood wants to focus on his Leeds-based business support services firm Advantage 42 and his family. Advantage 42 have sponsored the club, with their contributions helping to underpin last season’s League One promotion campaign.
Time Machine: When Keighley’s 1970s vintage took on the best

1 week ago | totalrl.com | Doug Thomson

Take a trip back to the seventies, when Keighley were in the top flight and cup fever gripped the fans. IT’S been a lean few years down Lawkholme Lane. Hopes were high among the Keighley faithful when Rhys Lovegrove’s side were promoted from League One in 2022 as runaway champions, winning all 20 matches.
Craig Lingard breaking loan habit at Sheffield Eagles

1 week ago | totalrl.com | Doug Thomson

SHEFFIELD EAGLES coach Craig Lingard believes breaking a habit of avoiding too many loans has provided a timely boost for the South Yorkshire club. He now has emerging Huddersfield duo, centre Darius Carter and backrower Jack Billington, as well as Hull KR wing hopeful Harvey Horne at the Steel City Stadium on season-long deals. “Historically, I’ve not gone down that road that often as a coach, partly because you have less control in some areas,” he explained.
Obituary: Gordon Pritchard - the well-travelled Cardiff codebreaker

1 week ago | totalrl.com | Doug Thomson

GORDON PRITCHARD (September 26, 1954 – May 15, 2025)GORDON PRITCHARD was a son of the Welsh Valleys who played for both Cardiff City/Bridgend Blue Dragons and his country – and Cumbria as well. For perhaps the pinnacle of his Rugby League career was a spell at Barrow, during which he twice represented Wales and twice played for his club’s county.
Obituary: Derek Hallas - the Headingley hero who ended Leeds’ title wait

1 week ago | totalrl.com | Doug Thomson

DEREK HALLAS (1934 – May 12, 2025)DEREK HALLAS was a two-try hero of the first Leeds team to win a league title. The Great Britain and Yorkshire centre spent close on four years at the club, taking in the triumphant 1960-61 campaign when Warrington were beaten 25-10 in the Championship Final at Odsal. They were bookended by spells at Keighley, and he also had a stint at Parramatta Eels before later coaching Halifax and scouting for Leeds.