Leeds Rhinos Foundation PDRL player-coach and Iraq war veteran Simon Brown is ready to spread the gospel of the game he has grown to love when the new season kicks off tomorrow. The 43-year-old from Morley in Leeds has been a virtual ever-present in Leeds’ PDRL (Physical Disability Rugby League) team since their historic first game against Warrington Wolves in February 2018.
He scored a try in a 22-10 win for Leeds at Victoria Park, in a game which also featured television stars Adam Hills and Alex Brooker, and now also coaches the team as well as Hunslet Parkside Under-8s. And despite the havoc caused by the pandemic, Brown and his team-mates are raring to go when the Rhinos play the first two games of 2022 at Eastmoor Dragons on Saturday.
Leeds will open up their new campaign against old foes Castleford Tigers, before taking on a Bradford Bulls team making their PDRL debut in a festival of disability rugby league with all seven of the competition’s sides in attendance. Brown plays despite a visual impairment which resulted in a life-threatening injury while serving in Iraq in 2006.
