Telford Raiders

Infobox_esl_club | clubname = Telford Raiders


fullname = "Telford Raiders ARLFC"
emblem = Raider
colours = Blue and Yellow
founded = 2003
sport = Rugby league
league = Rugby League Conference
ground = Oakengates Leisure Centre (Coordinates: 52°42′26.89″N, 2°26′59.00″W)
web= http://www.telfordraiders.com

Telford Raiders ARLFC are a rugby league club based in the town of Telford in Shropshire, England. Their first team plays in the Rugby League Conference and they have a development team in the RL Merit League as well as an active junior development program.

Telford is not a traditional rugby league area but the Raiders and their forerunners are striving to push the game forward in the town and around the county.

History of rugby league in Telford

Rugby League has been played in the Telford area for many years with varying degrees of success. The Telford All Blacks played for several years in the Northwest Counties leagues at both senior and youth levels but for a number of reasons they became unable to continue and folded.

In the early 1990s Dave and Janet Berry moved to Telford from Hull and over a number of years built up the Randlay Raiders youth team, which in turn inspired the formation of other boys teams, and a Shropshire league was formed. At its peak the Shropshire league had more than 150 registered youth players, and the Randlay Raiders also travelled throughout the country to play. However the pressures of running a league like this in a non-heartland area were too great and the league folded.

However the enthusiasm, as well as the awareness generated over the years, remained and in the autumn of 2002 the committee of the Raiders club applied to enter an open-age team in the Conference competition, to play under the name of Telford Raiders. Their acceptance into a national competition was a significant step forward for rugby league in the town and in the West Midlands. The junior section of the club is also active and a development officer is in place.

In 2005 the Raiders stepped up to the Premier Central division of the Conference where they came up against teams from heartlands areas such as Leeds, Dewsbury and Hull. This was a hard season in terms of travelling and in terms of the standard of rugby. In 2006 other Midlands teams joined the Premier league and this meant much less travelling and a more competitive season.

In 2006 a second club was formed in Telford: the Telford Trojans. They competed in the Midland Merit League in 2006 then moved to nearby Shifnal in 2007 as the Shropshire Scorpions. 2006 was also a good year for the Raiders, finishing 5th in the Midlands Premier Division with good wins over local rivals Wolverhampton Wizards and two very close games against the Birmingham Bulldogs. Junior players also had the opportunity to take part in four Junior Festivals, including the Raiders own, which were highly successful.

2007 was another promising year for the Raiders with numerous junior festivals across the midlands and a junior Merit League. The senior team again competed in the Premier Midlands Division of the Rugby League Conference. The Raiders U15 won the first ever junior Midlands Merit League match, beating the Sheffield Forgers by 55 points to 20. The U15 team went on to become the first winners of this competition. 2007 also saw the Raiders appear in a feature about RL in Telford on the Sky Sports RL magazine program Boots'n'All.

Honours

*Daz White (England Lionhearts)

*Matt Evans (England Lionhearts)

*Richard Whitehouse (England Lionhearts)
*Jim Berry (RLC Young Player of the Year 2004)

*Paul Szehofner (Germany RL)

Club records

*Biggest Win 67-16 vs Worcester Saints (H) 2004
*Biggest Defeat 6 - 68 vs Birmingham Bulldogs (A) 2003
*Personal Try Tally 13 by Paul Szehofner in 2004 Season
*Personal Goal Tally 35 by Daz White in 2004 Season
*Personal Drop Goal Tally 2 by Daz White in 2004 Season

External links

* [http://www.telfordraiders.net Official website Telford Raiders]

* [http://www.summerconference.net Rugby League Conference Official Site]

* [http://uk.geocities.com/[e-mail] Midlands Merit League Official Site]