PRESENTED BY. Canadian Opener GAME DAY PROGRAMME. TORONTO WOLFPACK vs SWINTON LIONS. Saturday May 5 TH Fletcher s Fields, Markham 4:30PM

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1 PRESENTED BY Canadian Opener GAME DAY PROGRAMME TORONTO WOLFPACK vs SWINTON LIONS Saturday May 5 TH Fletcher s Fields, Markham 4:30PM

2 PAUL ROWLEY «Being Back In Toronto» The wait is finally over Wolfpack fans! After over five months, the current Betfred Championship leaders touched down on Canadian soil for the first time this season to begin an exciting week as they take on Swinton Lions in their first encounter on this side of the Atlantic for Toronto fans haven t seen their perform at home since the club rounded off their League 1 Championship season against Doncaster on 16 th September last year in front of a record crowd at Lamport Stadium. Excitingly, this week gives the loyal fans the chance to flock to the nearby Fletcher s Fields Stadium in Ontario to welcome their heroes back as the first instalment of the Wolfpack s eagerly anticipated homecoming. Toronto Head Coach Paul Rowley has spoken passionately throughout his side s 14 game streak on the road about his desire to return to Canada. After touching down earlier this week, he spoke of his delight and the importance of the club s return to the city. He said: We were quick to get reacquainted with the place. We ve been to our gym and all our usual haunts and there s a buzz and excitement around the place. The Toronto fans are so enthusiastic and they ve been waiting a long time for this so I m really please for them. Rowley and the players have been busy in the days leading up to the match up with the Lions. The squad jumped straight back into the Toronto culture and met up with fans in the city during the week to kick-start the festivities. The Wolfpack boss was particularly pleased to be able expose his new players to the faithful fans for the first time and give the supporters the chance to meet their idols in person, after watching them for so long on television in the UK. He continued: It s been the first taste of Canada for a lot of our players and the first chance for our fans to see quite a number of new faces. First and foremost we met the fans on the Wednesday and that was great for them. Despite relocating this game to Fletcher s Fields, Rowley had no doubt that this week s game would be no less special and would round off a successful first week back in Canada for the club. He explained: The first thing myself and Assistant Coach Simon Finnigan did after we landed was drive straight to Fletcher s Fields to have a look. We ll turn up and will be made to feel really welcome this week in front of a very loud and excitable home crowd and we ll enjoy every minute of it. At the end of day we re taking to the field in Canada to play the game we love whilst being supported by the best fans in the world so what s not to be pleased about? This week s clash with Swinton could mark the Wolfpack s tenth straight victory in all competitions. After dispatching the Lions in the reverse fixture in March, Toronto face a huge challenge against the battling Lancashire based side, with less than a week to prepare before they play and then fly back to the UK to take on Warrington in the Challenge Cup. Due to the hectic schedule, Rowley admitted his approach to training had undergone some alterations to ensure the welfare of his players, but remained confident they would once again rise to the challenge. He said: We ve got a short turnaround this week. It s not ideal to be going for one week only but we re attacking it positively. We ve been very business-like in how we ve approached things this year and this week will be no different. Due to the circumstances we ve not been able to do as much with the players as normal. Our volume in training has been a lot less as has the intensity in certain parts of the preparation. We need to make sure our recovery is spot on moving forward. The next month of fixtures are going to be brutal but extremely exciting; there are a few big stages to perform on and that is what we re all about. We ll be looking to bring it home strong with our eight week block of games here in Canada and I m really looking forward to it, he added. 2 TORONTO WOLFPACK

3 2018 Wolfpack Squad #19 adam higson #15 Adam Sidlow #11 ANDREW DIXON #14 Andy Ackers #29 Jake Emmitt #18 James Laithwaite #2 JONNY POWNALL #6 Josh McCrone #10 Ashton sims #17 Blake Wallace #9 Bob Beswick #32 Darcy Lussick #5 Liam Kay #23 NICK RAWSTORNE #21 Olsi Krasniqi #27 Quinn Ngawati #33 CHASE STANLEY #24 Cory Paterson #31 Gareth O brien #4 Gary Wheeler #22 Rich Whiting #7 RYAN BRIERLEY #26 Ryan Burroughs #28 SAM HOPKINS #3 GREG WORTHINGTON #8 JACK BUCHANaN #13 Jack Bussey #25 JACK BUTLER- FLEMING PAUL ROWLEY BRIAN NOBLE Simon finnigan Kurt Haggerty 4 TORONTO WOLFPACK TORONTO WOLFPACK 5

4 League standing: 12th Played: 11 Won: 0 Lost: 10 Drawn: 1 1 Ben Austin 2 Ilias Bergal 3 Bradley Bilsborough 4 Michael Butt 5 Elliott Caine 6 Gabriel Fell 7 Christopher Hankinson 8 Hayden Hansen 9 Jack Hansen 10 William Hope 11 Rhodri Llyod 12 Mark Nicholson 13 Kyle Shelford 14 Andrew Thornley 15 George Tyson 16 Luke Waterforth 17 Marcus Webb 18 Christopher Worrall WE FUEL THE AMBITION OF YOUR TEAM 6 TORONTO WOLFPACK TORONTO WOLFPACK 7

5 2018 Home Match SCHEDULE Round 13: Toronto Wolfpack vs Swinton Lions Saturday May 5, 2018 Fletcher s Fields Round 19: Toronto Wolfpack vs Leigh Centurions Saturday June 30, 2018 Lamport Stadium Round 14: Toronto Wolfpack vs Toulouse Olympique Saturday May 19, 2018 I St James Park, Newcastle 12:45PM BST / 7:45AM EDT Round 20: Toronto Wolfpack vs Sheffield Eagles Saturday July 7, 2018 Lamport Stadium Round 15: Toronto Wolfpack vs Leigh Centurions Saturday May 26, 2018 Bloomfield Road 7:30PM BST / 2:30PM EDT Round 21: Toronto Wolfpack vs Batley Bulldogs Saturday July 14, 2018 Lamport Stadium Round 16: Toronto Wolfpack vs London Broncos Saturday June 9, 2018 Lamport Stadium Round 22: Toronto Wolfpack vs Rochdale Hornets Saturday July 21, 2018 Lamport Stadium Round 17: Toronto Wolfpack vs Dewsbury Rams Saturday June 16, 2018 Lamport Stadium Round 23: Toronto Wolfpack vs Featherstone Rovers Saturday July 28, 2018 Lamport Stadium Round 18: Toronto Wolfpack vs Barrow Raiders Saturday June 23, 2018 Lamport Stadium 8 TORONTO WOLFPACK TORONTO WOLFPACK 9

6 BETFRED CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND UP ROUND 11 Leigh Centurions 46 Barrow Raiders 18 Leigh s 2018 revival is now in full swing as the early season strugglers notched up their eighth straight win with a comfortable result at home over the struggling Raiders. Barrow are without a win in their last six matches and sit in ninth place whilst the Centurions have scored a remarkable 226 points in their last four matches. Rochdale Hornets 18 Sheffield Eagles 38 Sheffield got back to winning ways; their second in three weeks with a hard fought win over Rochdale. The Eagles grabbed seven tries, including a brace to American international Corey Makelim and half back Simon Brown, subjecting the struggling Hornets to their seventh straight loss, who sit just one point off the bottom of the table. Swinton Lions 8 Toulouse Olympique 62 French side Toulouse ran riot in Lancashire, piling more misery on struggling Swinton. Olympique bounced back from defeat at Batley the previous week in style, scoring eleven tries in all, including a hat trick and 30 point individual haul from fullback Mark Kheirallah and keep pace at the top in third place on the ladder. London Broncos 64 Dewsbury Rams 6 After losing three straight games after a superb start to the year, London have arrested the slide with three consecutive wins and looked impressive against an out of sorts Dewsbury side. The Broncos led 24-0 at half time and romped home in the second half, with the Rams only managing one consolation try as they conceded their biggest score since EYE CATCHING SCORELINES Featherstone Rovers 50 Batley Bulldogs 12 The free scoring Rovers kept on the heels of Toronto at the top of the Championship, dispatching in form Batley with a red hot ten try performance. Fev were in control throughout the contest and showcased the attacking flare they have shown all season, recording their fifth straight win. What was more remarkable than the result was the try scoring feats of Featherstone winger Luke Briscoe, who scored again to equal Martin Offiah s modern era record of scoring a try in 15 consecutive games and his 25th of the year. RESULT OF THE ROUND Toronto Wolfpack 42 Halifax RLFC 10 The Wolfpack produced arguably their best performance of the season in their first home game of the Betfred Championship with a seven try demolition of Halifax. Five well taken first half scores put the league leaders out to a 30-4 lead to effectively wrap the game up. The Blue and Whites battled until the end but had little answer the Canadian outfit s onslaught in a fine attacking display. SUPER LEAGUE WATCH THE BOTTOM FOUR Catalans Dragons moved off the bottom of the table with a narrow win over Hull FC. Tony Gigot struck a last minute field goal to snatch the victory whilst fellow strugglers Huddersfield replaced the Dragons at the foot of the table, going down 38 4 at Warrington. Elsewhere, Champions Leeds Rhinos came from behind to beat Hull KR whilst Widnes let a promising lead slip away, falling to defeat against Wigan 32-24, ensuring the bottom four clubs remain four points adrift of the top eight. 10 TORONTO WOLFPACK TORONTO WOLFPACK 11

7 APRIL 28, 2018 GAME GALLERY Darcy Lussick grabbed his first try for the Wolfpack to open the scoring, fire up his team and the Wolfpack fans with the perfect start. The Wolfpack produced a first half attacking masterclass, registering four more first half tries to give them an insurmountable 30-4 half time lead. Despite the second half being an arm wrestle, Cory Paterson marked his return from injury, putting the result beyond doubt with a barnstorming try to open the second half scoring. Halifax worked hard to stay in the contest but Toronto rounded the game up in style, scoring the try of the game through Liam Kay, who grabbed his second to finish a flowing move in the left corner in the final minute. 12 TORONTO WOLFPACK TORONTO WOLFPACK 13

8 TORONTO WOLFPACK Starts SQUAD STATS: 2018 SEASON No Players Appearances Total Tries Goals Dr/ Gls Sub Points 1 Quentin Laulu Togaga e Jonny Pownall Greg Worthington Gary Wheeler Liam Kay Josh McCrone Ryan Brierley Jack Buchanan Bob Bewsick Ashton Sims Andrew Dixon Jack Bussey Andy Ackers Adam Sidlow Reni Maitua Blake Wallace James Laithwaite Adam Higson Olsi Krasniqi Richard Whiting Nick Rawsthorne Cory Paterson Jake Butler-Fleming Ryan Burroughs Quinn Ngawati Sam Hopkins Jake Emmitt Gareth O Brien Darcy Lussick Chase Stanley Totals TORONTO WOLFPACK 15

9 TODAY S OPPONENTS SWINTON LIONS HISTORY The original Swinton rugby club was established back in 1866 and became unbeatable in their first few years; conquering all in the Manchester area and quickly became regarded as one of the strongest teams in Lancashire. Swinton are one of the few rugby clubs to have kept their original name. Having become known as the Lions as early as the 1870s, they are still known as that to this day, making Swinton Lions one of the oldest names in British sport. Although not one of the founding clubs of the Northern Union split, Swinton joined the new established code of rugby in 1896 and enjoyed some initial success in the sport. Led by arguably one of the greatest ever Lions, and still record try scorer, Jim Valentine, Swinton won their first Challenge Cup title in 1900 against Salford. After years of financial struggles throughout the Great War, the Lions battled back to win their first Lancashire Cup title in 1925, followed by their second Challenge Cup success the year after. They continued to build on that success with more trophies, reaching their pinnacle by winning every available piece of silverware in the 1928 season, which is an achievement unmatched in rugby league. Playing out of their infamous Station Road ground, Swinton went on the win the Lancashire Cup a total of four times, their last coming in 1969, and also boast an impressive six Rugby League Championship titles and three Challenge Cup crowns. Unfortunately, post 1970 saw the gradual decline in fortunes of the Lancashire based club and they have remained absent from the top flight since CLUB FACTS Stadium: Heywood Road Head Coach: Stuart Littler Nickname: The Lions Captain: Andy Bracek Swinton moved from Station Road in 2002 and now play their rugby at Heywood Road in Sale. They won promotion to the Championship firstly in 2011 and then again ahead of the 2016 to celebrate their 150 year anniversary. Here they have stayed and have become a tough opponent for anyone in the division, capable of beating anyone on their day. This quality was exemplified in 2017 when the Lions pulled off one of the shocks of the season by defeating Super League s Huddersfield Giants in the Challenge Cup. DANGER MAN Welsh international Rhodri Lloyd is one of the Lions most accomplished players. Originally from Caerphilly in Wales, Lloyd played for South Wales Scorpions before becoming a number of welsh players to join the Wigan Warriors. He signed in 2012 and made his Super League debut the same year. Seven years on and Lloyd is one of the more experienced campaigners in the Betfred Championship. In his second stint at Swinton, the Lions second rower is a tireless defender and constant threat with the ball. Able to play on both edges, the Wolfpack will have to keep a close eye on him this afternoon. THE ENGINE ROOM Led by skipper Andy Bracek, who possesses bags of Super League experience, Swinton s pack contains a number of dominant forwards. The likes of Andy Thornley and live wire substitute Josh Barlow make the Lions tough to break down in the middle and they will be looking to make their mark in Canada. FORM GUIDE Swinton have been doing it tough and are still without a win this season. The Lancastrians have suffered three straight defeats, including a heavy 62-8 reverse at home to Toulouse last time out and sit bottom of the league desperate to turn their season around with a win at Fletcher s Fields. LAST MEETING: Round 5 Swinton Lions 12 Toronto Wolfpack TORONTO WOLFPACK TORONTO WOLFPACK 17

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