Skip to content

Kelly shares thoughts on Toronto experience

Dewsbury Rams head coach Neil Kelly has shared his thoughts on the ‘Toronto experience’ following his side’s defeat to the Wolfpack on Saturday.

The Rams produced a spirited second-half performance, after struggling during the first half, having made the trip to Canada with a depleted squad.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, he said: “The experience was okay overall, we were well looked after, but one or two things could be better.

“We are not competing for the Super 8s, but there are things Super League clubs need to be made aware of, not least the prospect of not having players allowed into the country.

“If you are going to be competing against Toronto you need to be at full-strength.

“Rugby League is a game played by normal people and if you have any group of 30 people, some of them might have been in trouble with the police in the past.

“I’m not saying they are in trouble now, but people do silly things as kids.

“You have to make sure you get these things sorted out well in advance. We started planning in April and still had two players turned away at Manchester Airport.

“I hope the Super League clubs going over there get enough notice, because if Salford or Widnes went over there and had significant players missing, because they were not allowed in the country, it could seriously weaken their side and their chances of winning.

“You can’t get away from the scoreline, but overall under the circumstances I was happy with the players’ efforts.

“I don’t think anybody expected us to win, but there were certain things we were looking for from the players in the game and certain targets we set them.

“I thought they achieved those targets overall and in the second half we were superb, really competitive.”