Hunslet and Halifax agree dual-registration agreement

They will be the Parksiders’ fourth dual-registration partners after Leeds Rhinos, Bradford Bulls and Batley Bulldogs and coach Gary Thornton is “delighted” with the arrangement.

“Halifax are a top Championship club and have a really strong squad of players,” he said. “This partnership will help underpin our first-team squad. We haven’t got the biggest of squads so to have the ability to call upon Halifax’s quality players should we need to will be a huge help to us.

“I have a really good relationship with Richard [Marshall, Halifax’s coach] and this will be of great benefit to both clubs.”

Chairman Neil Hampshire admitted dual-registration is “not popular among some fans and players”, but insisted it will boost Hunslet’s promotion chances.

He said: “We have recruited a high-quality group of players we believe will put us in a strong position to challenge for promotion this season.

“We have also deliberately chosen to use a smaller number of players to help create that tight-knit team spirit.

“Last year we had a dual-registration agreement with Batley. That allowed us to bring in players who were not featuring in their first team to cover key injuries in a couple of games. The benefit of the agreement with Halifax is they will also be running a reserve grade this season and so any players we do utilise will already be match fit. Our primary aim though, as outlined to the players, is to maximise the flexibility within the squad in the first instance.”

Marshall said: “We look forward to seeing our players develop further at a strong League One team. Gary Thornton and I had some discussions about this and both parties felt the two clubs could work together and grow a strong relationship. We thought it was important for our players to play regularly even alongside our reserves.”

Hunslet play host to Leeds Rhinos in the Harry Jepson OBE Memorial Trophy on Sunday.