Four games go ahead on Saturday as the Holmen Iggesund Cumberland ARL starts to get into stride.
Maryport, comfortable 54-4 winners at Aspatria last week, have a chance to follow up against one of the other new teams when they host Flimby.
The ‘derby’ clash takes on added significance as they both share in the CV of current St. Helens star Tee Ritson who played as a junior at Flimby and then with Maryport before signing professional at Workington Town.
Flimby’s Ricky Morrison said: “It’s been hard setting-up but we have had some great sponsors that have helped us getting back into the game and we also have a St. Helens top, signed by this year’s squad including Tee Ritson who played youth rugby at Flimby.
“We are going to raffle this off at £10 a ticket on Sunday.”
They are looking to sell a few tickets at Maryport before and after the game, and there will also be an extended chance to tempt the fans as the hosts are putting on entertainment in the clubhouse afterwards when Jack Todd will be providing live music.
Ritson actually played for Maryport as a 17-year-old in 2013 when the club won three trophies – so tickets are likely to well on Saturday at the Athletic Ground.
Morrison added: “I am overwhelmed with the following and support that we have had over the last couple of matches and I’m sure there will be a massive crowd at Maryport on Saturday,
“Now that we are officially up and running the support from other clubs and the rugby league community has been phenomenal.
“We have a squad of 31 signed on for our open age team, with a lot of young lads.
“For the first game of the season in the Cup against Aspatria we fielded a team with seven lads playing their first ever open age game, some of whom had never played before.
“It has brought a buzz back into Flimby and the local areas. It’s all about the enjoyment of playing the sport and the craic, before and after the game.
“Maryport will be a strong team for most teams to take points off this season and it will be a tough game but we hsave a lot to work on and the lads have been putting the effort since October with pre-season training.”
Maryport will start as strong favourites to follow-up their big win at Aspatria last week.
Head coach Mark Foster said: “It’s great to have Aspatria and Flimby back in the League and obviously our first home game being Flimby gives us a local derby which will attract a good crowd.
“Shane Williams, signed from Glasson and Ashton Smith from Cockermouth have joined us this season along with Joe Kirkup and Sam Forrester, while my brother Craig Foster is back playing after suffering a really bad injury last season.
“I thought we were a bit scrappy in the first half at Aspatria but stepped up in the second half and I hope to see further improvement this week.
“We have 25 players available, as we did last week and it’s also a positive that we have an Under-18’s team entered into a new League which will give our youngsters regular rugby.”
Glasson Rangers have started well, with two straight wins so far and they travel to Aspatria who are looking to kick-start their season with a first win.
Head coach Scott Burns told the Cumbria Crack: “We have won our first two games but we are not getting ahead of ourselves. We only have a small squad and have several missing on Saturday because of work and family commitments.
“I think this will be our hardest game so far because there are several Aspatria players who were with us last season when Hornets took a break, and I’m sure they will want to put one over on us and get their first win.
“One of the pluses for us this season has been our defence. We have only conceded three tries in the opening two games and I can’t remember a single game last season when we conceded less than three tries.
“At Askam in particular they threw the kitchen sink at us in the first-half and we defended really well which was very encouraging.
“Although we just have a small squad this week-end we do have Kieran Ritchie available again which is a big plus as he was a stand-out player last season.
“I think the main thing is that we concentrate on our own game, not so much the opposition, as we have done in the first two games.”
The game with Glasson will be played at Silloth rugby union club, where the Hornets have been playing their home matches so far. Their home ground is still very wet.
The Hornets took a break last season and have come back refreshed and revitalised with a bigger first team squad and additions to their junior teams.
Mark Ridley said: “We have 34 players signed with a broad range of experience. They range from ex-National Conference League player Ben Tootill of Ince Rose Bridge and James Robinson, ex Town and Whitehaven pro in his 40’s to 17-year-old Owen Thorndyke who is in his first season of senior rugby
“We also have eight lads signed on new to rugby league, three or four from the Carlisle area and some who have never played any form of rugby.
“We did suffer a blow in pre-season when our play-maker Luke Johnson suffered a br0oken ankle and he is going to be a big miss leading us around the park.
“I thought it was good that our first game back was against Flimby in the Amateur Cup, two clubs coming back into the game, and both from former mining communities which I thi9nk was reflected in the 250 strong crowd.
“Our two two League game were both played at Silloth against a young, fast and talented Kells A side which we lost 40-10 and then against a very strong Maryport side who in my opinion will be up there at the end of the season in contention for the trophies on offer.
“Our ethos coming back into the League is to fulfil our fixtures, compete and everybody to enjoy their rugby on and off the field.
“We are pushing our social activities off the field and recently had Kyle Amor for our Sportsman Dinner which was enjoyed by well over 70 in attendance.
“Our juniors section has been upped from 40 to close on 70 with our 12’s making a strong start and the primary teams doing really well. It was great to see our 8’s play their first ever game at the week-end against Maryport and some superb skills were on show.
“For the Glasson game Ben Tootill is returning at half back after missing the Maryport game with a minor injury while Guy Reed is returning from rugby union duties although he has played for the Hornets before.
“The team will be a mixture of experience and inexperience, and from previous games we need to focus on set completion and game management.”
Kells A v Ellenborough A and Distington A v Cockermouth Titans complete the Saturday fixtures.
