Hornets face Salford Red Devils on Sunday

Former 'Hornet' Carl Forster returns to Spotland with Salford

Rochdale Hornets face Salford Red Devils on Sunday as their pre-season campaign gets under way against Super League opposition, and there will be a mixture of new and familiar faces on show.

Hornets will be without new recruits Jo Taira and Jono Smith, but coach Alan Kilshaw could hand as many as nine players their debut at Spotland.

Salford have chopped and changed their squad and could field some of their new stars, however Hornets fans may recognise some of the names on the team sheet.

Matthew Haggarty spent the back end of the 2015 season on dual-registration with Hornets before penning a deal with Salford for 2016.

Carl Forster was also with Rochdale on dual-registration during their 2013 promotion campaign, and started at prop in the final victory over neighbours Oldham.

The 23-year-old spoke of his time with the club and how he is looking forward to another return, this time under the guidance of Ian Watson and Tim Sheens: “I loved every minute of my time with Rochdale, obviously I was close with Tol who was the coach at the time, so it was good,” he commented.

“I knew a lot of the boys there and we had a successful season, which I will always remember.”

Whether he makes it out onto the pitch though is another matter, as he has been suffering with illness over the last couple of days.

He added: “I’m looking forward to the game but it is a case of if I am playing or not, due to being ill it’s a bit 50/50 at the minute.

“I have been back with Whitehaven and got a good reception so it’ll be good to see some familiar faces.”

With a lot of new names there is always the risk of those new names struggling to fit into the existing squad.

That hasn’t been a problem though, according to Forster, who feels that they have fitted in well since their arrival. He said: “The new boys have come in and slotted in straight away, and there are some good characters like Robert Lui who’s come over from Australia and Gaz O’Brien from Warrington.

“The new lads have added a lot to the team on and off the field.”

Forster has some fond memories of his time with the Hornets and will be happy to return, whether it is as a player or just a spectator.

“I’ll always hold a special place for Rochdale and I’ll get to see some familiar faces, so touch wood I’ll make the game but if not I’ll be there anyway to catch up with some of the guys.”

Both sides will be looking to blow off the cobwebs and get some much needed game time under their belts in preparation for the start of competitive season.