The Roughnecks family continues to grow as Mark Allen joins the team as Offensive Line Coach.

Those of you have attended one of our games or follows the wider Britball scene may recognise Mark either from his time on the Granite City Oilers team, or as a referee

Mark’s playing career with the Oilers started on the defensive line as a nose tackle, wearing number 64 (pictured right) before switching to the offensive side of the ball to play fullback as number 48 (2nd row, 9th from the left in the team photo below). Refusing to walk away from the game following the end of his playing career Mark volunteered his time, continuing to help the growth of the sport in this country. Mark recently hung up his stripes and following a spell working and travelling around the world aboard a cruise ship, but he had this to say about his return to American Football:

“I love football and to be involved as a coach means I get to be involved locally. Refereeing provided a great insight into the laws of the game which hopefully will help me to help both the players and coaches to improve in the long run”

“Football, for me, is about discipline and respect and I hope to install that into all I do at the club. Recovering, as I am, from my heart attack in November this will give me the opportunity to get involved with a great team and to keep me active.”

Offensive Co-ordinator Matthew Watt added this:

“[I am] Very pleased to announce Mark as our new offensive line coach for the upcoming season. His previous experience and knowledge of the game will be a fantastic addition to our growing coaching team and will help our offence to continue to improve.”

Welcome aboard Mark!