Fitting finale gives Ellis grounds for optimism

It will be like coming home for Kevin Ellis when he brings his Bridgend Blue Bulls to Wilderspool for the Grand Final of the RL Conference this afternoon.

Ellis spent five years with Warrington, winning a Great Britain cap in rugby league as well as a clutch of Welsh ones. Now he hopes to say farewell to a ground which closes down at the end of this season by lifting the Harry Jepson Trophy as Bridgend's player-coach. "I'm really looking forward to it, because I never thought I would play at Wilderspool again," Ellis said. "To be here in the ground's last year is very special."

Experiencing something similar will be another of Bridgend's big guns, Allan Bateman, who also played for Warrington before returning to rugby union, while the third member of the triumvirate, John Devereux, plied his trade just down the road at Widnes.

With star quality like that on board - plus the Wales A winger, Lenny Woodard, who is a current target for league clubs - Bridgend look as though they should be too strong for any opposition in the Conference, even their final opponents, Carlisle Centurions, who have also swept all before them this season.

But there are complications. Most of Bridgend's side are also under contract to Welsh rugby union clubs, with Devereux likely to join Ellis and Bateman at Maesteg. Those commitments meant that Bridgend would not have been able to field a side on the original Grand Final date, yesterday at Cheltenham.

Even today, injuries and other commitments mean that the Blue Bulls could be down to a bare 17. "They are contracted to clubs and that has their priority, but it is going to make it very difficult," said Ellis. "That is why I think Carlisle have to be favourites. They are all rugby league lads and they don't have any commitments on the Saturday. They have know-how throughout the team, which is better than having a few stars in the backs and nothing much in the forwards."

Ellis also played briefly for Workington, Widnes and the Gold Coast in Australia, before returning to his old rugby union club at Bridgend and later playing three seasons with Sale.

But returning to league has been "like a breath of fresh air", he says and, win or lose today, he and his Blue Bulls have long-term ambitions in the league code.

"We are considering applying for National League Two and the long-term aim is a Super League place, but it has to be built from the ground up, with a development scheme. I'm hoping to be working on that, as a development officer.

"The opportunity is there for rugby league in Wales. I remember that Super League once tried to merge Widnes and Warrington. They're trying the same thing down here and I think the Welsh public are just going to wash their hands of it."

It will be a huge boost for the Blue Bulls' credentials if they can win today, as well as a fitting swansong in the north of England for Ellis.

It could even lead to a last hurrah at international level. Ellis is convinced that he, Bateman and Devereux could still do a job for Wales in their rugby league international this autumn. "We've been playing at a good level and kept ourselves fit," says Ellis. "This is our chance to show that we still have something to offer."

The Welsh coach, Neil Kelly, will be kept away from Wilderspool by his commitments with Widnes at Huddersfield, but he has ordered a video. "We can't afford to rule out players with their record, but we've got to make sure they can still perform at that level," he said.