Following on in the wake of other players committing for the 2015/16 season the club can announce that lock pairing Ally Murray and Reece Tomlinson have both signed up for next season at Preston Grasshoppers.
Murray, who finished the season as captain following injury to Phil Baines, was the only player last season who started every league game. In those 30 games he was only substituted once and became a real talisman for the team scoring 4 tries in the process. Towards the end of the season he featured heavily in the back row at blindside flanker which gave him more freedom to carry the ball and be a nuisance at the breakdown.
Ally leads the side off the pitch at Hull
On committing for another season Ally said “I can’t wait for the season to begin. New team, new coaches, it’s an exciting time! I can’t wait to get going on the 3rd of September against Chester and give this season a real go playing some fantastic rugby. I’m looking forward to working with Oli Viney as he is a quality addition to not only the back room staff but also the playing staff too. Up the Hoppers.”
Second Row partner Reece Tomlinson impressed in his first season with the club last year after joining from Kendal. Despite a knee injury Reece managed to play in 24 of the 30 league games providing a much needed physical edge up front. With Reece in the side the teams defence of the driving maul improved drastically as he proved to be very good at disrupting opposition ball.
Reece prepares to compete at the lineout
Looking forward to next season Reece said “I massively enjoyed playing back up in the National Leagues last year. I think we will be up there in the coming season and with some young lads putting massive shifts in to keep up with, I can’t wait for the challenge.”
We look forward to seeing Ally and Reece in combination again next season.
