Luke Forber: Competition for places will drive us forward

Rochdale Hornets winger Luke Forber believes that healthy competition for places in the squad will be a key factor as they gear up for Sunday's 1895 Cup clash with Swinton Lions and the forthcoming Betfred League 1 season.

The Hornets kicked off their 1895 Cup campaign with a dominant display against Cornwall, beating their League 1 rivals 64-12 at Mayfield Sports Centre.

Prolific try-scorer Forber, who finished last season with 23 tries to his name, is already off the mark this season, running in his first four-pointer of the year against Widnes Vikings in the Betfred Challenge Cup.

Despite not featuring in the squad alongside his usual centre partner Myles Harrop for the Cornwall fixture, the left edge of the Hornets’ attack was as potent as ever, with Tom Ashton and Lameck Juma running rampant and earning seven tries between them.

Positional depth was an important part of head coach Gary Thornton’s recruitment plans ahead of the new season, and it’s something Forber believes will take his side a step further this year.

“It is always good to have competition in camp," he said. "This allows you to really push yourself to get that shirt each week.

“We have a strong squad of players who all want to play. 

“We had a strong season last year, and we were unfortunate to be knocked out in the play-off rounds. 

“The club has retained a large percentage of players, with some great additions coming in. We can take a lot of positives from the games we have played so far, but there is always room for improvement and still a lot of work to be done. 

“Hopefully, we can build on last year's efforts and go bigger and better this year to really push for promotion.”

Sunday’s game against Swinton will mark the Hornets’ first meeting with the Lions since July 2022.

Victory would see Gary Thornton’s men progress to the 1895 Cup first round proper, where a mouth-watering trip to local rivals Oldham awaits.

And with the Betfred League 1 season getting underway next weekend, Forber says the squad are relishing the opportunity to test themselves against the very best.

“It’s going to be a big challenge for the team," the winger added.

"Swinton are a newly relegated side into League 1, so it will be a good match-up to play them in the 1895 Cup and see where we’re at as a group.

“Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve had some really challenging games - Oldham in the Law Cup and Widnes in the Challenge Cup. These are two Championship sides and we managed to push them right to the end.

“The team is feeling confident, and we want to push other teams each week to progress further in the 1895 Cup and keep preparing for the start of the League 1 season.”