A message from Martyn Cheney to former player of Bramley Buffaloes, on behalf of the Bramley Rugby League Community Club Committee:
Hello,
First of all, I would like to thank you for playing for the Buffaloes in the last few years.
I speak on behalf of the Committee and current coaching team when I say this, and you have played a big part in keeping the Buffaloes alive and kicking.
The club has been around since 1879, switching to rugby league in 1896, where we continued to play until 1999, when the then directors of the professional club withdrew from the ‘Northern Ford Premiership’.
In the club’s 103 years in the professional game, we won only one trophy, the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy in December 1973, when we beat Widnes at Widnes on a Tuesday afternoon.
The supporters of the club quickly formed a phoenix club that rose from the ashes of the old club, where no one person could buy or sell the club for personal gain, which had happened to us in 1996, when the owners of the club sold McLaren Field for housing.
We tried to gain access to the professional game, but we were turned down on numerous occasions, on spurious grounds.
We were admitted to National League Three in 2004, and we had a race to assemble a team that could compete. This wasn’t without its difficulties from the existing clubs around and about us, but we persevered.
The 20 years since then have seen us be successful on the field, firstly in the National League, and then, when the game moved wholesale to the summer and our future was threatened once again, and the RFL moved us into the Yorkshire Men’s League, where we have had some good years and some poor ones.
But we have continued to fight on.
We are at a turning point: following a strong 2024 season, 2025 was disappointing, and as the season goes on without us, we are focused on future planning.
Can we go again for 2026? Will we have the same struggles we had this year?
Should we call an end to it and bask in the glories of our 146 years of history?
This is why I am reaching out to you, as individuals who have played for the Buffaloes in the recent past.
To plan for the future, we need to know if:
1) You will play for the club in 2026 and beyond
2) If you can play, are you willing to commit to the whole season (April to September) or some of the season?
3) If you are unable to do either of the above, would you please let us know why and if there is anything we can do or should have done differently?
You can let us know your plans in one of the following ways:
Message us:
- Steve: 07809 491214
- Jed: 07455 071333
- Martyn: 07903 246337
Complete our form online here: https://forms.gle/hXdEgozjcWqZMswJ6
By the middle of October, which gives you a chance to reply, the committee will meet again. Depending on the responses we receive, we will decide what to do next as a club.
Thank you for your efforts on and off the field for the Buffaloes.
