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Dewsbury Rams: I’m back in love with the game, declares Barker
Dwayne Barker.
Former Leeds Rhinos prospect Dwayne Barker is back in the game after two years “living in the real world”.
Leeds-born Barker will be aiming to make up for lost time as captain of new-look Dewsbury Rams this season.
Barker began his career in Leeds Rhinos’ academy and had a stint in the full-time squad, though he didn’t make a senior appearance.
He had spells at Hull KR, Castleford and Harlequins before falling out of love with the game, but a stint in the amateur National Conference rekindled his enjoyment.
Explaining his route from Rhinos to Rams, the former Milford Marlins junior said: “I have had a few clubs, after Leeds I played at Hull KR and had quite a bit of success there.
“I was at Castleford and then I went down to Harlequins, but it didn’t really work and I decided to have a couple of years off, to get my head sorted.
“I got myself a job and had a bit of time to enjoy myself. It was a bit of a reality check, working and I started to miss rugby, but that took two years. I am enjoying it again now and I feel great.”
Barker will now combine rugby with his job as a care officer, working with young offenders at a secure unit in Leeds.
“I didn’t play any rugby at all for 18 months, but then I played about 10 games for Hunslet Warriors and while playing with them I realised that I had missed it,” he revealed.
Feelers
“I put a few feelers out and the chance to play for Dewsbury came along. I am friends with Austin Buchanan, who plays for Dewsbury, so that’s how it came about.
“I said I wanted to play again, he had a word with Warren (Rams coach Warren Jowitt) and that was it.”
Jowitt was impressed enough to name Barker skipper for the 2012 campaign, which begins on Sunday when Rams play host to Halifax in the Northern Rail Cup.
“It is brilliant, I feel really privileged that Warren thinks I can do the job and I am going to enjoy it this year,” Barker said of his appointment.
“It is a big thing, but I have been captain before. I am not one of those players who’s quiet, I like to say what I think.”
Barker played in the backs, mainly centre and stand-off, during his academy days, but has returned to rugby as an out-and-out forward.
“I’d like to play second-row or loose-forward,” he said. “I have messed about before playing centre, but I want to settle down in one position now.
“I have been a utility-player before and I think that messed me up a bit, coaches wanting me to play centre or six, prop even. That got to me a bit, but now I am ready to go.”
Rams will face tough competition when the Co-op Championship begins at Easter, after being saved from relegation by a league reshuffle.
Crusaders’ demise and the decision to demote Barrow Raiders to Championship One, plus Toulouse’s withdrawal, meant Rams and the side immediately above them, York City Knights, both survived.
Jowitt has rung the changes, bringing in more than a dozen new faces and Barker insisted: “The squad is definitely a lot more experienced.
“Speaking to the players who’ve been here in past years, they are saying it’s the best feeling that there’s been for a while.
“I am not saying we are going to win the league, but I think it’s going to be a successful year for the team and for the club.
“We are ready to play. It gets to this time of year and you want to start playing. It’s only a few days away now, so we can’t wait.
“We’ve got Halifax first and then Featherstone, so it’s a tough start, but we are ready and we want to put in a good performance.
“We played well in the friendlies and we just want to play now and show people what we can do.”
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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