Featherstone Rovers prepare for return to action against Bradford Bulls

​The game takes place at Rovers’ Millennium Stadium with a 3pm kick-off as James Ford’s men set out on the long road to what they hope will be success on the pitch in 2024.

A further home friendly has been arranged in the build up to the next Betfred Championship campaign with Fev up against Dewsbury Rams on January 14 before they travel to play Hunslet in the 1895 Cup on January 28 and Batley Bulldogs in the same competition on February 4.

The pre-season matches will give head coach Ford a chance to run the rule over the players he has at his disposal with new boys Ben Reynolds, Connor Wynne, Greg Minikin, Harry Bowes, Nathan Massey, Danny Addy, Moris Kamano and Manoa Wacokecoke all in contention to feature.

One of the players to stay at the club from last season, Brad Day, meanwhile, has reported that preparations have been going well.

He said: “It’s been a good start to pre-season and we’re building and getting better every week as a group.

"There are some nice combinations coming together.

"We are a relative new group, but we have a clear understanding of our standards and what we’re trying to achieve.”

Half-back Thomas Lacans backed up his teammate’s thoughts on pre-season.

He said: “We’ve been training hard.

"There’s a lot of new faces and we’re really beginning to build those connections.

"I’m very excited about what we can do in 2024.”

Rovers will be looking ahead to the forthcoming season with members of the board, management and playing staff in a fans forum tonight (Thursday).

They will be aiming to set out the vision for 2024, talk about Rovers and IMG and the state of the game while there will be coach and player updates on-pre season and squad development.

The event starts at 7pm at the Millennium Stadium and in attendance will be Mark Campbell, Stephen Clough, James Ford, Ben Reynolds, Danny Addy and Martin Vickers.