EIGHT Fixby players are in the 17 named by Halifax, Huddersfield Union team manager Chris Mear for the pre-season trial at West End tomorrow, when they take on the Union junior side.

They include former Union junior matchplay champion Matthew Colcombe, who is to play out of Fixby although he has retained membership at Longley Park.

The match presents another of the eight, Brad Tupman, the reigning Union strokeplay-PS Cockroft Trophy champion, with the chance to impress and get a first call-up for the Yorkshire Inter-Union League campaign, which Mear’s men open against Leeds at Wetherby on May 17.

The juniors start against Harrogate at Dewsbury on May 3.

Mear said: “Every player will be involved but with our first match not being for another month I’ll not be reading too much into their form.”

More in focus will be how the youngsters fare as Frank Greaves, the junior side chief, wants to see them in pressure situations.

Greaves is one of the first-team squad but would be delighted to see his young charges shine.

The format tomorrow (1.30 start) has to be decided. It is likely to be an individual event mixed with a team contest, with scores of each team member counting over the closing holes.

Chris Ingham, winner of the Union championship back in 1988 and almost a forgotten man, returns to the Union team scene after a lengthy absence.

Mear said: “Chris wasn’t in the squad when I took over from Andy Whitworth. He went to Australia and though he returned, he wasn’t picked as I understood he had retired from Union team golf.

“That turned out to be a misunderstanding. When I spoke with him he said he was still interested, and in fact, he’s as keen as mustard.”

Mear is just as keen to see a big improvement on last year’s disappointing results and hopes players – both first team and juniors – learned from the session he arranged this week with golf psychologist Dr Karl Morris at Meltham.

“It was good turnout, about 40 attending. It was a superb night, most enlightening, and hopefully the lads have taken on board things that Karl had to say and will benefit from it,” he said.

Union squad. G McLean (Meltham); C Ingham, S Bridges, F Greaves, S Martin (all West End); D Stafford (Todmorden); A Appleyard, A Shaw, R Broadley, M Colcombe, D Stocchero, J Ellison, J Fairhurst, B Tupman (all Fixby); B Crowther (Dewsbury), I Powell (Hebden Bridge), S Sweeney (Halifax).

Junior squad: J Bower (Meltham); A Cryer, G Bamford (both Hebden Bridge); N Scott, B Adamson (both Crow Nest Park); C Ryan-Hicks, A Waller, J Doherty (all Longley Park); E Shaw (Marsden); T Goodair (Woodsome Hall); N Marsh (Lightcliffe); S Pullen, B Simpson (both Saddleworth); J Hill (Bradley Park); T Calvert, L Howell (both Willow Valley).