Kells coach Peter Smith has put a new team together for the coming season – and it’s mainly been off the field!
The backroom staff at the Whitehaven club has been seriously increased, particularly through the addition of Stephen Kirkbride and Simon Brannan.
Both have close associations with the Kells club and are going back after working at Whitehaven as assistant coach and conditioning coach respectively.
Smith said: “It’s been massive for me getting these two lads in. They have simplified things and brought such a lot back to the club.
“We also have Spencer Miller and Andrew Nelson getting involved as well, as their lads are two promising young players at the club so there’s quite a feelgood factor about the place.
“It was a battle over the last two years, being relegated and then adapting to Division One after losing a number of players to the pro ranks.
“But we’ve actually got two of them back from Whitehaven in Karl Garner and Clarke Chambers.”
Both signed for the 2025 season at the Ortus Rec with Chambers playing six times in League One and Garner appearing five times.
“We’ve had around 30 at training each session which is great and also augers well for our second team in the new Cumbria Men’s League.
“We only played the one pre-season game against Ellenborough, winning six tries to two without taking any kicks. There should have been a second game with Seaton but their pitch was unfit.
“Starting off with a derby game at Egremont is going to be a tough start but one we are looking forward to.
“They did the double over us although we finished above them in the table. I thought we were poor for most of both those games and we will be looking to do a lot better tomorrow.
Tomorrow is the start of the revamped community/amateur game with lots of critics, but now it has arrived a real hope that it will work.
Wath Brow Hornets remain as Cumbria’s only representatives in the community game’s top tier, the Premier Division.
They start off with a long trek to established rivals West Hull, which won’t be a gentle introduction to a new season.
Hornets were in something of a transition last season, introducing some of their talented crop of younger players to the big league and the experience will have been invaluable.
Hornets had expected to play their final warm-up game last Saturday for the Gordon Cottier Memorial Trophy but opponents Egremont cried off late.
Meanwhile the new Cumbria Conference kicks off as well with five games programmed for the launch.
The matches to start are Barrow Island v Hensingham; Distington v Ellenborough; Hindpool v Ulverston; Millom v Dalton; Seaton v Maryport.
