Matty Barlow (Photo by Emilia Roberts Photography)
The
Deeside D1 Dragons have announced that popular forward Matty Barlow will be returning
to the club for the forthcoming 2026/27 Moralee Division season.
Former
Bradford junior Barlow joined the Dragons last season after spending most of his
Moralee Division career with near rivals Widnes Wild and quickly became a fans favourite.
He
scored 27 goals and 49 assists in 41 matches overall last season – including the
dramatic over time winner away at Blackburn that put the Dragons into the Moralee
Cup final – while picking up 46 penalty minutes.
Barlow was the recipient of the inaugural Dragons Player Of The Month Award for September 2025.
Also
returning for a second season with the Dragons are Bailey Thomas and Theo Malone
who will both play on a 2-way arrangement with Manchester Storm.
The
Dragons have also boosted their back-room staff with the return of Robyn Crebbin
as sports injury specialist for a third season and the appointment of Sports Science
student Fyske Whitehead, who will work alongside the coaching staff to support
the team with video analysis and performance data.
Long
term Dragons player Alan Steele joins the team as equipment support, working with
Rhys Stout who returns as Equipment Manager.
