History was made last month. It’s not a word we use lightly but given there were yet more tremendous achievements from across the club in August, it was not out of place.

The main bit of history was the 1st XIII reaching its first ever Grand Final! Those with a better memory may remember we reached a Grand Final about six years ago but that was in the second division. This was our first appearance in the top flight following a cracking win over Wallsend Eagles, who also made the final cut.

Sadly Wallsend showed their experience to win on the day but the journey our boys have been on this year is one we are very proud. I as much as anyone have made a big song and dance about the youth of the side – Ajax of the North I cried - but that does a discredit to the older hands who were equally integral and have put down a big marker for 2018.

To see Head Coach Dave Townend and players Louis Platt and Jack Redfern nominated for the North East Rugby League Awards was therefore very fitting, and they were three of nine nominees we had on the night, joint highest with Gateshead Storm.

On the night which served to highlight the breadth of quality in the region, our one winner was Alex Donaghy who took the U16s Player of the Year crown after a phenomenal season of development alongside his teammates. Our second part of history was made by Alex and his teammate and mate, Nathan Clemmitt.

Both were selected to play for England Youth against Wales, marking the first time two Rockets have played in the same side of a representative side. It was a day made all the more sweet by the fact they have both been friends for years, going to the same school, playing for both the Rockets and the Thunder Academy and now England, and marks the third Rocket from Northumberland (Jake Woods being the last) to play for England Youth in recent years.

The final bit of history for August was a biggy. We revealed we are launching a new club in North Northumberland called Alnwick Bears RLFC. It was launched to much fanfare and became one of the biggest news stories in rugby league that day. There’s still plenty to do behind the scenes before we start properly in February but we are well on our way. It is a unique opportunity to grow the game and use our experiences to make it as good as possible.

The key thing is there is no intention for it to be Rockets mk.2. Alnwick is a smaller town, with different strengths and opportunities and the aim is to allow its personality to flourish through the Bears. It’s going to be an exciting journey. I also have to say how happy we are with the new club badge – even Toronto Wolfpack were complimentary via Twitter!

Despite August being a lull in the season, for the day to day club activity the highlight was the return of our Summer Camps. Revamped to ensure everyone gets to work with our best coaches, they went down well once again and continue to be a great way to spend the holidays if you are just looking for something fun to do or want some specialist rugby coaching.

Outside that, planning was well underway for September’s annual charity day, which I will report on next month. Once again the British Heart Foundation are to be the recipients and we really enjoy helping support them.

Looking ahead, the October camps will be running once again. Watch this space for details. Also in November we have the Rockets end of Season awards – these were moved from October due to a clash with a school trip that meant most of an age group couldn’t make it. We are still in the hospitality suite at Kingston park with Smooth Radio’s Chris Sibley returning to host after doing such a great job in 2015. Make sure you book your tickets online today!

So there we go. A historic August for many reasons. September will have a tough task to live up to it in my next report. However, one spoiler I am happy to share is the fact we have been shortlisted for National Club of the Year at the RFL Community Awards!

This is made all the more special by the fact this is the second year running we have been given this honour, something which I believe is a first for any club. We lost out to Siddal last year and know this year will be just as tough. But it does mean that there will be another good Rockets presence at these flagship awards for the fourth year running, boosted even more by the fact our U16 coach, Jordan Robinson is up for Children’s Coach of the Year. Good luck us!

Hopefully by the time of my next report I have some good news to share with you all but until then, keep up the cracking work and thank you for supporting the Rockets. We would not be in the position to be recognised for these honours if it wasn’t for you.

Onwards and upwards

Jeff Ball
Chairman
Cramlington Rockets