Widnes Wild players past and present will be joining players from many other clubs in this year’s Rob Craig memorial game which will be played this Sunday 12th May at Blackburn.
The game is played every year in memory of former Blackburn recreational player Rob Craig who took his own life in 2017 and aims to raise funds and awareness for mental health charities.
Alongside Matty Barlow, it has been announced that former Widnes players Bobby Streetly and Adam Barnes, Calum Ruddick - all now with Blackburn Hawks - Kieran Brown, now captain of the Leeds Knights National Division team, and Mark Higson (Bradford Bulldogs) will also be playing in the memorial match.
Hawks player James Riddoch, Blackburn Head Coach Dominic Osman – a former Elite League player with Hull – and Manchester Storm’s Canadian import CJ Garcia are also due to play, and the bigger name players will be spread across two teams to ensure an entertaining and competitive game.
Event co-organiser Wez Spurett – himself a former General Manager of the Widnes Wild NIHL team - said: “It’s not just a game of hockey for us, we play against our friends all the time, but this started off as just trying to get our friends together and remember Rob and the underlying purpose of it was to make sure that we spread awareness about what happened with Rob and do anything we can to try and prevent that.”
The beneficiary of the 2024 Rob Craig Memorial game will be Andy’s Man Club – an organisation that started off in Halifax and now organises local groups across the country where men aged 18 and above can speak openly about their mental health in a judgement-free, non-clinical environment.
You can find out more about Andy’s Man Club and their local groups via their website at andysmanclub.co.uk.
Advance tickets for the game on 12th May are now on sale via the Planet Ice Blackburn ticketing website at £3 for adults and £1 for Under 16s HERE – or you can pay on the door.
Anybody who would like to help with sponsorship - or otherwise get involved with the event - is asked to contact the organisers at robcraigcharity@outlook.com
