by Tony Harrison

Last updated at 15:12, Friday, 13 July 2012

Former Great Britain prop Jamie Thackray has committed himself to Workington Town by penning a new deal.

Jamie Thackray

The former Super League star, 32, who initially signed for Town at the beginning of 2012 from French Elite One Championship outfit Limoux Grizzlies, pledged his services to the Championship One title chasers for 2013, last night.

Chairman Dave Bowden was delighted after securing the deal, and said: “Jamie was keen to get his rugby sorted out for next year. He is enjoying his time up here and we were keen to get his signature for another 12 months.

“He has quickly become one of the fans’ favourites, has been one of our top performers and has had a huge impact coming off the bench. And he’s a player who will also make an impact at a higher level.

“In the near future, we are going to be signing up the players we want to keep, hopefully, in preparation for Championship rugby next season.

“The fans will be very happy with the news and Jamie is delighted. I am sure he will continue to show his class in our six remaining Championship One league games.”

Leeds-based Thackray made 43 Super League appearances for Hull, after spells at Castleford and Halifax, before moving to Leeds where he played 31 games, before returning to Hull for another 36 games. He then moved to Super League club Crusaders in 2010 before a stint at Barrow Raiders. Thackray earned his three GB caps in 2005 during his first stint with Hull.

Meanwhile, Town are preparing to welcome second-bottom South Wales to Derwent Park on Sunday (1pm ko) with Karl Olstrum, Jarad Stack and Dan Rooney, who all missed the 30-20 victory at Crusaders, all hoping to play a part in the game.

The South Wales outfit, coached by former Barrow Raiders coach Dave Clark, are expecting to field up to 15 local players.

Clark said: “The top six is still a definite goal. We’re only five points out, and we’ve got a good draw. We’ve got a good opportunity to hopefully sneak in there.”

“This week we’ve got our second trip to Cumbria in a month. It’s a big challenge for the players, but we’ve had a really good training period.

“We’ve trained hard and focused on each game, each week. I can’t fault how the lads train, and they’re now getting the confidence that they can compete with the top four sides.

“We’re not that far off. We just need a bit more consistency and we’ll really compete.”

Haven are without a game this weekend but travel to take on Barrow Raiders on Thursday.

First published at 11:24, Friday, 13 July 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk