2017 Toronto Wolfpack season

April 2016

After becoming the first North American team to join the RFL it was announced that former Leigh Centurions coach Paul Rowley would be taking the head coach's role for the Canadian team. Shortly after Brian Noble joined the club as the director of rugby. Coach Rowley announced that his assistant manager would be ex Super League and Ireland international Simon Finnigan. The Wolfpack announced that they would be playing their home games at the 9,600 capacity Lamport Stadium.

July 2016

Toronto announced their first two signings, experienced Wakefield Trinity Wildcats centre Craig Hall and try scoring winger Liam Kay from Leigh Centurions. The Wolfpack later announced that they had signed Warrington Wolves pair, back rower James Laithwaite and halfback Gary Wheeler, in a bid to recruit a competitive squad for the 2017 season.

August 2016

In August, Toronto announced it had signed its first Canadian player, (and Canada's captain) Sheffield Eagles halfback Rhys Jacks. Following this, young Australian halfback Blake Wallace signed for Toronto from the Illawarra Cutters. Further recruitment in the forwards was made as Wales prop Dan Fleming signed with the Wolfpack. 19-year-old halfback Reece Dean also joined the Toronto ranks from Challenge Cup winners Hull F.C., identified as a player for the future by coach Rowley. The Wolfpack also announced that Leigh Centurions duo, loose forward Andrew Dixon and winger Jonathan Pownall, were to join for the 2017 season.

September 2016

The first signing of September was loose forward Jack Bussey who was signed from RFL Championship side London Broncos. Toronto bolstered their team further by bringing in experienced Ireland international hooker Bob Beswick from Super League side Leigh Centurions. Beswick will take up the role of head of strength and conditioning at Toronto along with his playing duties. Greg Worthington was the next to join Paul Rowley's roster with the powerful centre being sign from the coach's former club Leigh.

October 2016

Toronto announced their first American player, United States national representative Ryan Burroughs from the Wentworthville Magpies in the Ron Massey Cup. Bradford Bulls player Kurt Haggerty retired from playing rugby league in order to become part of Paul Rowley's coaching staff at Toronto. In the middle of the month the 2017 fixtures were released and it was revealed that Toronto's first ever League match would be away to London Skolars in March 2017. Their first home game would be in Round 6 against Oxford Rugby League in May 2017. Following the fixture release, Toronto announced that they had signed young prop forward Toby Everett from the London Broncos on a season-long loan.

November 2016

The Wolfpack announced that they had signed former England international and veteran centre Richard Whiting from Super League side Leigh Centurions. In addition to this, young prop forward Steve Crossley signed for the Wolfpack from RFL Championship shield winners Bradford Bulls. Experienced Championship fullback Quentin Laulu-Togaga'e was signed from Sheffield Eagles. Toronto announced the signing of American born prop forward Jerome Veve from the Gold Coast Titans, in addition to this prop Jacob Emmitt signed for the Wolfpack from Swinton Lions. At the 2016 Four Nations final, the Wolfpack held a press conference where it was announced that Tongan prop Fuifui Moimoi had signed a one-year deal with the club from Leigh Centurions. In addition to this it was revealed that Premier Sports had acquired the rights to all of Toronto's matches for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Furthermore, current Super League champions Wigan Warriors and Challenge Cup winners Hull F.C. will play Toronto in the pre-season friendlies.

December 2016

During this month, the final 18 trialists from Toronto's Last Tackle campaign traveled to the UK to compete in a friendly match against Brighouse Rangers (Toronto's training partners) in order to win a full-time contract with the Wolfpack. With a record crowd of over 500 at Brighouse, the Wolfpack were victorious 28–26 due to a try in the last 5 minutes from Nathan Campbell. After the match it was announced that Jamaican born Campbell would join the first team squad for the 2017 season, in addition to this Canadian born Quinn Ngawati, the 17 year old stand off, was also offered a contract thanks to a try and 4 goals in the match. The final player to receive a full-time contract was USA born Joe Eichner, a second row forward who had previously played for Jacksonville Axemen.

January 2017

Due to the liquidation of the Bradford Bulls, prop Adam Sidlow announced that he had signed with Toronto. Trialist Chad Bain (a Canadian born prop) was called up to the first team by Brian Noble following a man of the match performance in the friendly against Brighouse. During the month, Toronto played their first ever pre-season friendly against reigning Challenge Cup champions Hull F.C.. The Wolfpack took an early lead through halfback Blake Wallace but Hull soon took the lead and won the match 26–20 with further Toronto tries coming from Fuifui Moimoi, Jonathan Pownall and Liam Kay with captain Craig Hall kicking two conversions.

February 2017

It was announced that Toronto would enter the 2017 Challenge Cup in the 3rd round along with the other League 1 sides. The Wolfpack were drawn away to National Conference League premier side Siddal. They overcame the amateur team 14–6 in tough conditions with American Ryan Burroughs crossing for the first competitive try for the Wolfpack.

March 2017

Toronto started the League 1 season with a comprehensive 76–0 victory over London Skolars. Prop Fuifui Moimoi was the highlight of the match as he crossed for a hat-trick, the first player to achieve that at Toronto. In the process they helped to achieve the record attendance for the Skolars with 1,542 people coming to see the Wolfpack's first ever league game. Following this the Wolfpack travelled to Cumbria to face Whitehaven. Toronto came away with a 24–10 victory on a muddy and wet surface, captain Craig Hall scored the opening try with Liam Kay, Bob Beswick and Jonny Pownall also crossing for tries. Toronto continued their good start to their first Challenge Cup campaign as they beat RFL Championship side London Broncos in a close fought 30–26 win. The Wolfpack rounded up the month with a 48–21 win at the Keighley Cougars, the match was very close with Keighley 9–8 up at half time however the superior fitness of Toronto and a Jonny Pownall hat-trick saw them win the game.

April 2017

Toronto announced the signing of former Leeds Rhinos and retired prop forward Ryan Bailey on a season long contract, meanwhile hooker Sean Penkywicz came back from a ban and signed for the club. The Wolfpack continued their winning run in the league with a comprehensive 82–6 victory over Doncaster, loose forward Jack Bussey scored a hat-trick while Fuifui Moimoi marked his return with a brace of tries along with winger Liam Kay and halfback Blake Wallace also scoring two tries each. Captain Craig Hall kicked a record 13 goals in the match. The following week saw Toronto beat North Wales Crusaders 80–0 in a one sided game, the Wolfpack were 60–0 at halftime with Hall scoring a hat-trick of tries and becoming the first player for the Wolfpack to reach 100 points for the club. The club announced the signing of halfback Ryan Brierley from the Huddersfield Giants, Brierley previously played under coach Paul Rowley at Leigh Centurions. April ended with Toronto's first ever loss in a competitive match as they were narrowly defeated 22–29 by Super League side Salford Red Devils in the Challenge Cup.

May 2017

Team flew back to Toronto for the first ever home game for Toronto at Lamport Stadium on May 6 against Oxford RL. After the game, they immediately flew back to England to prepare for the game on May 12 against Newcastle Thunder. Just after that game, the Wolfpack flew transatlantic again back to Toronto for 2 home games.^[2]

Pre-season friendlies

Date	Vrs	H/A	Venue	Result	Score	Tries	Goals	Att	Report
22 January 2017	Hull FC	A	KC Stadium	L	20–26	Wallace, Moimoi, Pownall, Kay	Hall 2/4	3,758	Report

League 1 fixtures

Date	Rnd	Vrs	H/A	Venue	Result	Score	Tries	Goals	Att	Report
4 March 2017	1	London Skolars	A	New River Stadium	W	76–0	Moimoi (3), Kay (2), Pownall (2), Worthington (2), Beswick, Dixon, Hall, Togaga'e	Hall 12/13	1,542	Report
12 March 2017	2	Whitehaven RLFC	A	Recreation Ground	W	24–10	Beswick, Hall, Kay, Pownall	Hall 4/5	643	Report
26 March 2017	3	Keighley Cougars	A	Cougar Park	W	48–21	Pownall (3), Sidlow (2), Dixon, Hall, Kay, Wallace	Hall 6/9	1,128	Report
9 April 2017	4	Doncaster RLFC	A	Keepmoat Stadium	W	82–6	Bussey (3), Kay (2), Moimoi (2), Wallace (2), Beswick, Jacks, Togaga'e, Whiting, Worthington	Hall 13/14	943	Report
14 April 2017	5	North Wales Crusaders	A	Racecourse Ground	W	80–0	Hall (3), Togaga'e (2), Wheeler (2), Jacks, Kay, Moimoi, Penkywicz, Sidlow, Wallace, Worthington	Hall 12/14	590	Report
6 May 2017	6	Oxford RL	H	Lamport Stadium	W	62–12	Brierley (2), Dixon (2), Pownall (2), Whiting (2), Burroughs, Hall, Wallace, Worthington	Hall 7/12	6,281	Report
12 May 2017	7	Newcastle Thunder	A	Kingston Park	W	40–22	Brierley (2), Beswick, Kay, Pownall, Togaga'e, Wallace	Hall 6/7	1,087	Report`
20 May 2017	8	Barrow Raiders	H	Lamport Stadium	W	70–2	Togaga'e (3), Brierley (2), Bailey, Dixon, Penkywicz, Pick, Wallace, Wheeler, Worthington	Hall 11/12	7,144	Report
3 June 2017	9	Coventry Bears	H	Lamport Stadium	W	54–12	Kay (3), Dixon (2), Moimoi (2), Beswick, Brierley, Jacks	Hall 7/10	7,236	Report
11 June 2017	10	South Wales Ironmen	A	The Wern	W	66–0	Worthington (3), Burroughs (2), Hall (2), Whiting (2), Brierley, Bussey, Penkywicz, Pownall	Hall 7/13	697	Report
18 June 2017	11	Workington Town	A	Derwent Park	W	58–12	Brierley (2), Hall (2), Pownall (2), Worthington (2), Bussey, Penkywicz	Hall 9/10	835	Report
24 June 2017	12	Hunslet RLFC	H	Lamport Stadium	W	56–12	Togaga'e (3), Pownall (2), Brierley, Hall, Kay, Laithwaite, Penkywicz, Whiting	Hall 6/11	6,042	Report
1 July 2017	13	York City Knights	H	Lamport Stadium	W	64–22	Kay (5), Pownall (2), Beswick, Bussey, Hall, Penkywicz, Togaga'e	Hall 8/12	5,646	Report
8 July 2017	14	Gloucestershire All Golds	H	Lamport Stadium	W	62–10	Hall (2), Beswick, Burroughs, Crossley, Jacks, Moimoi, Pownall, Togaga'e, Whiting, Worthington	Hall 9/11	7,139	Report
15 July 2017	15	Hemel Stags	H	Lamport Stadium	W	74–16	Hall (4), Wallace (3), Beswick, Crossley, Fleming, Kay, Moimoi, Pownall	Hall 11/13	7,247	Report

League 1 Super 8's

Date	Rnd	Vrs	H/A	Venue	Result	Score	Tries	Goals	Att	Report
30 July 2017	S1	York City Knights	A	Bootham Crescent	L	16–26	Beswick, Brierley, Hall	Hall 2/3	2,602	Report
6 August 2017	S2	Workington Town	A	Derwent Park	W	68–0	Wallace (4), Hall (2), Pownall (2), Emmitt, Kay, Laithwaite, Togaga'e	Hall 10/13	592	Report
13 August 2017	S3	Keighley Cougars	A	Cougar Park	D	26–26	Kay, Pownall, Togaga'e, Whiting, Worthington	Hall 3/5	922	Report
19 August 2017	S4	Newcastle Thunder	H	Lamport Stadium	W	50–0	Kay (3), Togaga'e (2), Hall, Jacks, Moimoi, Worthington	Hall 6/9	7,522	Report
2 September 2017	S5	Whitehaven RLFC	H	Lamport Stadium	W	36–18	Whiting (2), Beswick, Kay, Pownall, Togaga'e, Wheeler	Hall 4/7	6,134	Report
9 September 2017	S6	Barrow Raiders	H	Lamport Stadium	W	26–2	Wallace (2), Togaga'e, Whiting	Hall 5/5	7,972	Report
16 September 2017	S7	Doncaster RLFC	H	Lamport Stadium	W	26–14	Pownall (3), Kay, Wallace	Hall 3/5	8,546	Report

Challenge Cup

Date	Rnd	Vrs	H/A	Venue	Result	Score	Tries	Goals	Att	Report
25 February 2017	3rd	Siddal ARLFC	A	Siddal Sports & Community Centre	W	14–6	Burroughs, Sidlow, Worthington	Hall 1/2, Wallace 0/1	1,023	Report
17 March 2017	4th	London Broncos	A	Trailfinders Sports Ground	W	30–26	Bussey, Hall, Jacks, Kay, Pownall	Hall 5/6	873	Report
23 April 2017	5th	Salford Red Devils	A	AJ Bell Stadium	L	22–29	Brierley, Kay, Moimoi, Togaga'e	Hall 3/4	1,318	Report

  Win   Draw   Loss

In

Nat	Name	Position	Signed from	Date
	Craig Hall	Centre	Wakefield Trinity Wildcats	July 2016
	Liam Kay	Wing	Leigh Centurions	July 2016
	James Laithwaite	Second Row	Warrington Wolves	July 2016
	Gary Wheeler	Stand Off	Warrington Wolves	July 2016
	Rhys Jacks	Scrum Half	Sheffield Eagles	August 2016
	Blake Wallace	Scrum Half	Illawarra Cutters	August 2016
	Dan Fleming	Prop	Bradford Bulls	August 2016
	Reece Dean	Stand Off	Hull F.C.	August 2016
	Andrew Dixon	Second Row	Leigh Centurions	August 2016
	Jonathan Pownall	Wing	Leigh Centurions	August 2016
	Jack Bussey	Loose Forward	London Broncos	September 2016
	Bob Beswick	Hooker	Leigh Centurions	September 2016
	Greg Worthington	Centre	Leigh Centurions	September 2016
	Ryan Burroughs	Centre	Wentworthville Magpies	October 2016
	Toby Everett	Prop	London Broncos	October 2016
	Richard Whiting	Centre	Leigh Centurions	November 2016
	Steve Crossley	Prop	Bradford Bulls	November 2016
	Quentin Laulu-Togaga'e	Fullback	Sheffield Eagles	November 2016
	Jacob Emmitt	Prop	Swinton Lions	November 2016
	Jerome Veve	Prop	Gold Coast Titans	November 2016
	Fuifui Moimoi	Prop	Leigh Centurions	November 2016
	Nathan Campbell	Fullback	Duhaney Park Red Sharks	December 2016
	Quinn Ngawati	Stand Off	B.C. Bulldogs	December 2016
	Joe Eichner	Second Row	Jacksonville Axemen	December 2016
	Adam Sidlow	Prop	Bradford Bulls	January 2017
	Chad Bain	Prop	Brantford Broncos	January 2017
	Shaun Pick	Prop	Featherstone Rovers	January 2017
	Luke Menzies	Prop	Salford Red Devils	January 2017
	Ryan Bailey	Prop	Retirement	April 2017
	Sean Penkywicz	Hooker	Retirement	April 2017
	Ryan Brierley	Scrum Half	Huddersfield Giants	April 2017

Out

Nat	Name	Position	Club Signed	Date
	Jerome Veve	Prop	Gold Coast Titans	January 2017
	Luke Menzies	Prop	Professional Wrestling	April 2017
	Reece Dean	Centre	Doncaster	May 2017