Jordan Burns
After the Easter round of matches there are several players I think deserve a mention.
First of all is Jordan Burns, the Whitehaven captain who suffered a horrible injury in the second minute of Friday’s Cumbrian derby, shattering his eye socket in several places.
Two photos sent to me by photographer Ben Challis show Jordan entering the field with his two children (above) and then leaving the field and on his way to hospital with a shocking injury.
The two photographs demonstrate what a cruel game Rugby League can sometimes be and what players sometimes go through to provide entertainment for those of us who love the game.
Jordan coaches the Kells junior teams, for whom both of his young sons play.
Kells Youth posted this message to him on Facebook: “Get Well Soon, Coach Jordan! Everyone at Kells Youth are wishing you a speedy recovery after your injury in the Town vs Haven game today. The whole Raptors and Kells U6s squad are sending big love and good vibes your way. Take it easy, rest up, and we’ll see you back in action before you know it!”
I would like to add my best wishes to that message for Jordan.
George Whitby
John isn’t often wrong, but he was on this occasion, and young George demonstrated to any doubters that he thoroughly deserved to be in the Saints side.
He’s a remarkably calm halfback who looks likely to have a long career.
And he is a remarkably confident young man, if his Sky interview after the game with Jenna Brooks is anything to go by.
Given that he is still a teenager, we are going to be seeing an awful lot of him in the years ahead.
And that is a great prospect.
Lewis Dodd
Lewis was a hugely promising player who unfortunately suffered a serious Achilles tendon injury in the 2022 Easter derby against Wigan, which inevitably impeded his progress.
During the 2024 season he announced that he would join the NRL’s South Sydney Rabbitohs and he finally made a delayed debut off the bench in their 32-0 shellacking by Canterbury Bulldogs at the Accor Stadium on Friday in front of a record 65,305 crowd.
By the time he got onto the field roughly half way through the second half, the game was gone, but I thought he did as well as could have been expected, forcing a goal-line drop-out with one kick to the line.
I hope we see more of him and that he can impose himself in the NRL, perhaps even challenging for an England place in this year’s Ashes series.
Cade Cust
It was hard not to feel sorry for Cade Cust when he became the first Super League player to receive a red card in the Hull derby on Friday.
Cust was travelling like a train when he collided with Hull KR fullback Arthur Mourgue and it was difficult to take avoiding action in the split second between Mourgue catching the ball and colliding with him.
Unfortunately Mourgue’s head took the brunt of the collision and it was hard to argue with the red card.
But I don’t think anyone could say there was any malice in it.
And what surprised me was to see Mourgue returning to the field after passing a head-injury assessment.
The young French fullback is clearly a very tough young man.
Tommy Makinson
I was pleased to see Tommy Makinson score a hat-trick for Catalans on Saturday, taking him past 1,500 points during his career.
Tommy looks as good as ever to me and he will still be a contender for England, come the end of the season.
It will take a good winger to edge him out, although I suspect that Dominic Young may be that man.
Jason Qareqare
Don’t we all love wingers.
And Castleford’s Jason Qareqare is one of the fastest in the game.
He played his first game of the season for the Tigers on Thursday night and touched down twice in the first half, showing outstanding pace.
I hope he can now have an extended injury-free run that will see him scoring more touchdowns like the ones we saw against Wakefield.
Tiaki Chan
Tiaki Chan signed for Wigan on a three-year contract from 2024, but so far he has only played two games for the Warriors, spending much of last season on loan at Hull and this season on loan at Salford.
On Saturday he created a wonderful try for Jonny Vaughan with a superb charge down the field and then he scored one himself. He seems to put his heart and soul into every game.
“Tiaki is a dynamic young forward who we feel will go on to be loved by his team-mates and the Wigan supporters,” said Wigan coach Matt Peet when the club announced his signing in June 2023.
With so much talent at Wigan, it’s hard for any player to force his way into the team.
But I find it hard to believe that Tiaki won’t do it at some point.
Christian Wade
One player who I shall look forward to seeing at Wigan is Christian Wade, whose signing was announced by the club on Friday.
Anyone who has any doubt about his ability should check out some of the tries he has scored this season for Gloucester, in particular a hat-trick against Bristol. He looks like an excitement machine to me.
He won’t be joining Wigan until June at the earliest, but I wish him all the best for a successful switch of codes.
