Gareth Raynor inks one-year deal with Featherstone Rovers
Gareth Raynor, the former Bradford Bulls player, agreed to a one-year deal with the Championship franchise, Featherstone Rovers, on January 1, 2012.
Raynor is very happy with the latest development in his rugby league career and said, “It is fantastic to know I’m going to be back playing and that Featherstone have given me this chance. I have still got a lot to give and I’ve been training like a Super
League player to make sure I’m ready. Just because I’ll be playing in the Championship doesn’t mean I won’t be working as hard.”
The player was recently going through a very bad patch of his life, which had led to his termination with immediate effect from Bulls in September 2011. He was previously convicted of being part of an internet scam case, which ended him up behind the bars
for 15 months.
Raynor took the whole sacking episode too harsh on himself where depression at its extreme took its toll on him. He was pushed to the limit of even attempting suicide on himself. In addition, the player was addicted to alcohol and sleeping pills, which had
aggravated his status about his fight against his dark patch.
However, he successfully pulled himself out of the financial and emotional turmoil because of the support offered by his fiancé, Rugby Football League (RFL) and Sporting Chance Clinic. The player would not have been able to fight that mess alone and the
fact that he has sailed through the rough patch with the right kind of support available is an achievement of its own accord.
Previously, the player had played for Hull, Crusaders, Leeds Rhinos and Bradford Bulls. Now that the player is playing for the second tier franchise does not mean that his Super League dream has ended.
While talking about his training, Raynor added, “I have been training incredibly hard on my own but we’ll assess where my fitness is once I start training with the club.”
The ex-Bull player wants to be part of every game which is on Rovers’ schedule, where Rovers will lock horns with Hull KR on January 8.
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