Hensingham appoint Papua New Guinea international as Head Coach
National Conference League side Hensingham have announced the appointment of Papua New Guinea international Jessie Joe Parker as their new Head Coach.
Parker recently left Championship side Whitehaven after spending the last nine years up in Cumbria. He made 154 appearances for the club, scoring 64 tries.
Before then, he played for Featherstone in the Championship, scoring 17 tries in 15 games. He also had a brief spell with Wakefield Trinity, but left without playing a game.
He is also a Papua New Guinea international, and has made 13 appearances for his country. Parker also played in two World Cups and the Four Nations in 2010.
The club said in a statement on Facebook: “JJP needs no introduction to the local community as he has cemented himself as a firm fan favourite since joining Whitehaven in 2012.
“JJP has also played a number of games for PNG including 4 nations tournaments & 2 world cups & we are delighted to bring someone on board with his experience, Jessy shares our vision of building on the clubs successful youth and learning together as we go forward into a new National Conference League season.”
New clubs accepted into NCL
The NCL have also recently announced the admission of two new clubs for the 2022 season. Cumbrian side Seaton Rangers and the Doncaster-based Bentley have also been admitted.
The league’s will be going back to where they before the pandemic hit in 2020. For the 2021 season, they divided the four league’s into regional divisions of seven.
After that, the club’s were then split back nationally for the post-season. There was a playoff series for the top performers, as well as a Shield and Cup for those who finished lower down.
Going forward, the league have confirmed it will be four divisions of 12 in 2022, with the fixtures being announced on 17th December.
The season will then get underway on 5th March. Before then, selected sides from the NCL will enter the Challenge Cup in the first round.