by Sam Hawcroft
A Withernsea-born Hull KR supporter is preparing to take to the field at Sewell Group Craven Park alongside some of rugby league’s biggest names – all in aid of charity.
Adam Pickering will play for the newly formed Rugby League Fan Club side against the Rugby League All Stars on Saturday, September 5.
The match, which kicks off at 1pm, will raise money for Hull-based charity Life for a Kid and is set to feature former stars Adrian Morley, Ryan Atkins, Stuart Fielden and Lee Gilmour.
Adam, 24, recently moved to Hessle with his girlfriend but spent about 20 years living in Withernsea, where his mother and stepfather Kim and Simon Dallimore still live.
Although he has followed rugby league and Hull KR for years, Adam had never previously taken the step of playing the sport.
However, the opportunity to run out on the Robins’ home ground while supporting a good cause proved too tempting to turn down.
He said: “I’ve always been a fan of rugby league, but I’ve never been brave enough to step on the pitch.
“But I thought, with the opportunity to play at Craven Park and to do it all for charity, why not?”
The Rugby League Fan Club has operated as a social media community since 2015, bringing together supporters from across the game.
However, this will be the first time it has formed a team to take to the field, with about 24 or 25 players expected to be involved in the match.
The squad includes supporters from Hull and the surrounding area, as well as players travelling from further afield, including the Wigan area.
Adam said: “The first training session was when we all came down and got to know each other. Everyone else was a stranger.
“There are a lot of lads who live in Hull, but the rest are from places such as the Wigan area.
“There are fans of other Super League clubs involved and they all follow the Rugby League Fan Club on Facebook.
“It was a good opportunity for people from all over the country to get involved.”
The players have been training together each Wednesday at East Hull RLFC in Rosmead Street for the past few months, with additional sessions also being held on Monday evenings.
Numbers have varied from week to week, with between eight and 19 players attending, but Adam said the sessions had helped the squad build its fitness and get to know one another.
Although the team includes supporters of clubs from across rugby league, Adam said there was a strong Hull KR contingent, along with several Hull FC fans.
The match will be divided into four 20-minute quarters, giving the large squad the opportunity to ensure everyone gets time on the pitch.
For Adam, the prospect of lining up at the home of Hull KR is made even more memorable by the calibre of players expected to feature for the opposition.
Life for a Kid founder Dean Hoggard said the match had developed after Rugby League Fan Club founder Dave Musgrave approached him about involving some of the charity’s established All Stars players.
Dean said: “He messaged me and said they had been offered this game and asked whether some of our All Stars players could come down.
“As it developed, he was getting his own team together to play against us.
“Our team has some of the former Super League legends playing for us, so it is a chance for these lads to play against some of their heroes.”
The Rugby League All Stars were established in 2007 after taking part in a successful fundraising match for rugby league legend Steve Prescott.
A couple of years later, Dean was inspired to establish Life for a Kid after seeing an appeal for a young boy who needed a specialist helmet to treat flat head syndrome.
The equipment was not funded by the NHS in the area where the family lived and the parents had also been unable to obtain help from larger charities.
Dean and his fellow fundraisers raised the money for the helmet and realised there were many other children and families struggling to obtain support.
Life for a Kid became a registered charity in 2010 and has since helped children with specialist equipment, sensory facilities and other support.
It has also assisted families whose children are undergoing cancer treatment, including helping parents with travel costs and providing holidays.
Dean said: “We started off helping children with equipment and then it became helping children who have cancer, funding parents to travel to Leeds Hospital and sending families on holidays.
“We also had a lot of people asking for sensory equipment for autism, so we set up a sensory room and ran that for 10 years.
“We raise a lot of money through football, rugby and boxing events.”
Each Rugby League Fan Club player was initially challenged to raise at least £150, with many already exceeding their targets and some approaching £700.
At the time of the Gazette’s visit to a training session, the players had collectively raised about £7,000, with several weeks of fundraising still to go.
Adam has also received a sponsorship boost from Hornsea-based company Augment AV, which will sponsor his playing shirt and shorts.
The company is run by Hornsea Carnival chairman Iain Poole, who became aware of Adam’s appeal through Kim and Simon.
Iain said: “It just popped up on Facebook. I know Kim and Simon and they said Adam needed a sponsor.
“It is for Life for a Kid and I thought, ‘Why the heck not?’
“When you have people doing something they have never done before for a worthwhile cause, I don’t see why small businesses can’t help where they can.”
Adam thanked Iain, his family and everyone who had supported and shared his fundraising appeal.
He said: “My mum had been putting things on Facebook as well as me, looking for a sponsor to raise that extra bit of money for the charity.
“Iain very kindly sponsored my shirt and shorts for £150.
“I would just like to thank my sponsor and my family for all their support.”
Tickets for the Rugby League Fan Club All Stars against the Rugby League All Stars are available through TicketSource.
To donate to Adam’s fundraiser, visit justgiving.com/page/adam-pickering-2.