Rams hope to snap up trio after Barrow ruling

A Rugby Football League (RFL) tribunal met at 5.30pm yesterday to discuss a number of breaches of rules Barrow Raiders are alleged to have made.

The allegations include that Barrow have again breached the Championship salary cap, an offence which they were deducted six points for earlier this year.

If Barrow were found guilty once more, the tribunal could impose an unlimited points penalty which could see them demoted to Championship One, thus saving the Rams from relegation.

The vast majority of Barrow’s squad are understood to be now out of contract, but Dewsbury are still in limbo as to which division they will be playing in.

Rams chairman Mark Sawyer said: “It seems likely that we will stay in the Championship but we still do not know for certain.

“The RFL have had no option in this matter and have not been able to do things any quicker.

“It is vital that we stay in the Championship, as there are no other West Yorkshire clubs in the lower division and the nearest club would be Doncaster.”

Dewsbury have got a number of signings in the pipeline but these could be dependent on the Rams staying in the Championship.

Among them are understood to be York prop Ben Jones, Toulouse hooker Craig Cook and former Harlequins and York second row Ryan Esders.

One player who seems set to leave Tetley’s Stadium is hooker Luke Blake, who has received a lucrative offer from big spending Halifax.

Blake was named Dewsbury’s man of steel last season but appears set to join former Batley Bulldogs coach Karl Harrison at The Shay.

Rams coach Warren Jowitt rolled back the years last Saturday when he turned out for Dewsbury Moor A in Pennine League Division Seven alongside assistant coach Matt Walker.

However, Jowitt has quashed suggestions that he may re-launch his professional career.

Jowitt, who scored two tries in Moor A’s defeat against Selby, joked: “I was thinking about a comeback until my heart started pounding and I had an out of body experience.

“I now have a two-week break to recover but I could have another trot out (for Moor).”

Keighley Cougars clinched promotion to the Co-operative Championship with an emphatic 32-12 grand final victory over Workington last week and they will join the likes of newly crowned champions Featherstone Rovers, Hunslet, Halifax, Batley, Sheffield and York in the higher division.

That would compare to the likes of Gateshead, London Skolars and South Wales Scorpions, plus long trips to Cumbria to face Workington and Whitehaven, if the Rams are relegated to Championship One.

The Rams have confirmed that the latest of their popular fans’ forums will take place on Thursday October 20 in the Royal Suite at Tetley’s Stadium, starting at 8pm.

Dewsbury are hoping to announce details of next year’s season tickets at the forum, while there will also be a question and answer session.

Questions can be e-mailed to [email protected] before the forum.