ROUGHYEDS have confirmed the additions of Lisa Sharratt and Adam Simpson as part of a backroom staff shake-up.
Sharratt returns to the club where she served as a physio back in 2000 when Mike Ford, now the managing director, was the head coach.
Now the Head of Medical, she will oversee the medical operations by putting things in place ahead of next year and act as a mentor to other staff.
Sharratt started out her physio career in rugby league with Rochdale Hornets and has also worked for GB Students, England under-18s.
She has worked in rugby union, too, having been the physio for New Zealand in 2005 when they won the Tri Nations.
Currently she works with GB Swimming and is also the North of England Zonal Lead for Swim England.
Aside from her work in sport, she recently sold her Rochdale-based business, The Physiotherapy Clinic.
Joining Sharratt is Adam Simpson who has been appointed the Head of S&C.
Simpson, who works full time at Doncaster Knights – coached by Joe Ford, son of Mike – will play a key role in pre-season in getting the squad ready for the season ahead.
“With the vision that Mike (Ford) has got, and the direction the club is going in, it was something I wanted to be involved in,” he said.
“I’m coming in on a part-time capacity to run the physical preparation side of things.”
With the squad back in training, he also gave an insight into how things have gone so far.
“The players have listened to the plans that Sean (Long) and myself have and they’ve bought into it,” added Simpson.
“There’s been a buzz in training; the standards are high and we’ve had some unbelievable sessions in our first week.
“I’m excited for what is to come over the next couple of weeks as we get ready for our first game on Boxing Day away at Keighley.”
He started off his S&C career as an intern at Bradford Bulls where he worked his way up to leading the club’s performance programme for the first team.
He has also worked with Featherstone Rovers, Wakefield Trinity as well as FC Halifax Town.
After completing a Masters in S&C at St Mary’s University in Twickenham, he joined union side Doncaster Knights ahead of the 2021/22 season.
Roughyeds can confirm the departures of S&C coach Dan Bedford, physio Lee Cholmondeley, as well as statistician Lee Thomas.
The club would like to place on record its thanks for their efforts and wishes them well for the future.
