MIKE GRADY has a tough assignment in his first game back at North Wales Crusaders as head coach.
Grady, appointed as head coach until the end of the season, will be back at the helm for the first time during Sunday’s home clash against Championship leaders London Broncos.
This will be Crusaders’ second match at Colwyn Bay’s Eirias Stadium since they came under new ownership.
On his appointment, Grady told the club’s website: “Really looking forward to being back at the club. I’m grateful to Jamie and the board for making it possible.
“We all know there is a lot of hard work ahead of us, but there are plenty of good people here all working hard and pushing in the right direction.
“It’s not going to happen overnight on the field, but I’m here to make sure we are improving and moving in the right direction.
“I’m looking forward to getting going and seeing all the Crusaders faithful again. I know they will be behind us 100 per cent.”
It has been a decade since Grady was first appointed by the club.
During his first spell with the Crusaders, he guided the club to the iPro Sport Cup final in 2017, narrowly losing out against Barrow Raiders.
Since then, Grady has remained heavily involved within rugby league, holding coaching roles with the likes of Newcastle Thunder, Rochdale Hornets and Widnes Vikings, whilst he’s also been appointed head coach of Espania RL.
Grady has also held roles at Salford.
Club chairman Jamie El-kaleh said: “This appointment is about building stability, standards and a strong rugby culture throughout the club.
“Mike brings experience, honesty and a huge amount of passion for developing players and teams.
“We are under no illusions that there is a lot of work ahead, but we are building something for the future and we believe Mike will play a massive part in that journey.
“Most importantly, we ask our supporters to stay with us. The loyalty and passion of the Crusaders faithful means everything to this club, and together we will continue moving forward.”
Supporters are sure to be out in force once more for the visit of high-flying London Broncos.
Fans made their voices heard last weekend when North Wales returned home with an 86-0 reverse at the hands of Salford.
Broncos are favourites to take the title and they boast a record of 13 triumphs from 13 matches heading into Sunday’s showdown.
This will be one of two home matches Crusaders can look forward to this month, with Halifax Panthers their visitors on June 21.
Halifax are heading to Swinton Lions on Sunday, while Widnes Vikings are set to be at home to Dewsbury Rams.
The weekend action gets underway with a trio of contests tomorrow afternoon.
Midlands Hurricanes will be looking to make home advantage count as they tackle Whitehaven, Batley Bulldogs are tasked with a trip to Goole Vikings and Newcastle Thunder entertain Hunslet.
Sunday’s other fixtures: Keighley Cougars v Rochdale Hornets; Salford v Doncaster; Workington Town v Barrow Raiders.
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