Chairman's End of Season message

Following the conclusion of the 2026 campaign, Hornets chairman Andy Mazey sends a thank you to fans, staff and partners while reflecting on the season and looking ahead to what’s to come in 2027.

I write to you to say a heartfelt “thank you” to each and every fan who has supported our club through the turnstiles this year. On behalf of myself, the board, staff and everyone at Rochdale Hornets, thank you!

There have been some fantastic memories made this season, none more so than the famous Challenge Cup tie against Wigan back in February. To host one of the biggest clubs in rugby league at the Crown Oil Arena was a special occasion for our club, our supporters and our town.

Our 1895 Cup run was another highlight, reaching the semi-finals before eventually bowing out to Widnes. To compete so strongly across both competitions, while adapting to the demands of Championship rugby, is something everyone involved should be incredibly proud of.

This time last year Gary and I set about undertaking a major squad overhaul and a refresh of back-room staff and training facilities. With the greatest respect to all our other groups in my six-year tenure as chairman, owner and a custodian of this great club, this is, in my opinion, the most professional, unified, hardworking and determined group we’ve had to date. 

Most importantly, this team has shown tremendous togetherness throughout the season. They have, in most weeks, competed against clubs with greater resources and continued to represent the Hornets shirt with immense pride, and produced some fantastic results, including standout home and away victories against our rivals Swinton, Keighley and Workington, a first away win over the Cumbrians in 15 years!

Sunday's game marked the end of the playing careers of Jordan Andrade and Tom Ashton. Both have given so much to Rochdale Hornets and can look back with enormous pride at their contribution. On behalf of everyone at the club, thank you both.

In summary, from an on-field perspective, we are in a better place than 12 months ago. With a number of player retentions already announced for 2027, many of those being two-year deals, it should give confidence to supporters that we are building something special here in Rochdale. Other player retentions are also in the bag and will be announced in the coming days and weeks. 

We have been working hard for many months on this and have a number of new signings ready to announce; however, out of respect for their current clubs, we will announce them at a mutually agreed time.

Huge congratulations go to our Women’s team on their first season following promotion. Avoiding relegation and finishing just one point outside the play-offs is a fantastic achievement and one everyone at the club can be proud of.

Our Wheelchair team also deserve huge credit, currently dominating the Championship and sitting top of the table with just a few games remaining. We wish them every success in finishing the season strongly, and I'd urge everyone to get along and give them your support in their remaining fixtures.

Rochdale Hornets Sporting Foundation, under the stewardship of Chairman Mark Wynn, has gone from strength to strength this year. This is largely due to the success of 'The Hive', the home ground of our women’s team, our men’s first team training base and a thriving local community hub complete with a café. 

Particular highlights of the year have been hosting a women’s international fixture, hosting Ireland and Wales men’s international teams’ training camps, boys and girls summer rugby camps, monthly supporters association meetings, as well as being a home for local morris dancing troops, local grassroots boys and girls football and much more. 

We recently celebrated the second anniversary of officially opening the facilities, and I'd urge anyone who’s not been down yet to sample the hospitality and fantastic food at fantastic prices to do so.

Rugby League as a sport has had its problems and casualties over the last 12 months, so it's all the more pleasing to report that we have come through 2026 in a healthy state thanks to our sensible and sustainable approach. For this end, I want to say a sincere thank you to all the businesses and individuals who have supported us throughout the year. 

Together we are stronger, and Carl, Jason, Glenn and Matt are working very hard on our commercial activities, engaging partners new and old, so if there is anyone else out there who wants to join the Hornets family, then please get in touch; we’d love to talk to you!

Whether you have been a shirt sponsor, matchday sponsor, ball sponsor or player sponsor, every contribution matters. At our level of the game, commercial support isn’t simply a name on a shirt or an advertising board – it helps us put a team on the field and keeps this historic club moving forward.

At the time of writing, we have literally just submitted our IMG grading return for 2026. IMG grading has been made optional this year, mainly aimed at those with ambitions of Super League; however, as a club, we have taken the decision to continue to grade to demonstrate good practice and to ensure we are recording and monitoring the key metrics. In my opinion, this can only breed good habits within the business and ensures we are constantly measuring our own performance as a club.

A couple of notable areas of improvement worth highlighting from this year’s IMG return are as follows. Firstly, from a digital perspective, not only have our follower numbers across all platforms grown significantly, but we have increased our engagements by an impressive 75%, with over 2.5 million engagements across this year. 

With regard to the finance pillar, our latest filed accounts at Companies House show an increased turnover, and a small profit which is a big improvement on the loss reported in 2024 and in the current climate encouraging and demonstrates we are not only preaching about sustainability, our actions are backing up words.

Of course, while the above is all positive, it should not be lost on anyone that such progress is largely being underpinned by the generosity of myself and the club’s other shareholders. The reality remains that if we want to increase our playing budget and really move this club into the top half of the Championship, and to the next level, we need more people supporting the club, and more bums on seats on match days.

There is much to look forward to and plenty of work still to be done. We need everyone who cares about Rochdale Hornets to be part of it – existing supporters, former supporters, families, friends and the next generation of Hornets fans.

Enjoy the closed season, recharge those batteries, and let's come back energised and ready for what promises to be an even bigger and better 2027.

Onward Hornets!

- Andy Mazey