Last updated at 12:39, Thursday, 19 November 2009

WHITEHAVEN have hit the lotto jackpot – with a whopping boost to their Pride of Five draw.

The club lottery was traditionally a major earner for Haven but flagged badly before being targeted for action this year.

And the result is good news for club coffers, with Haven even declining a kind offer from Super League partners Leeds Rhinos to join their lotto scheme.

General manager Nigel Beaty said: “Our lottery is doing well and we are in the process of revamping it for after Christmas.

“From this time last year, we are 25% up on lottery numbers. We are improving the efficiency of the operation and have dedicated more time to it.

“Leeds offered to let us join their lottery, but we’ll be keeping our own.”

The lottery will be one item on the agenda when Beaty and club officials Paul Goodwin and Bernadette Amor start a two-day visit to Headingley today as guests of the Rhinos.

“Paul will be talking to them about their lottery and using Leeds’ experience,” added Beaty.

“We’ll be looking at their commercial operation and going through as many departments as possible.”

The lottery boost has come hard on the heels of news that Haven have doubled their sponsorship income this year, the first under the stewardship of their new board and off-field team under Beaty.

The improved figures follow a couple of years of disastrous financial results, where the club suffered major operating losses.

The paperwork for Leeds’ signing Kyle Amor’s dual registration will be completed this week, enabling him to turn out for Haven when not required for the Rhinos first-team.

He will be given a notional value by the RFL which will be set against Haven’s salary cap every time he plays for them, though, of course, in reality they will not have to fork out the cash.

“It could be up to £1,000 a game,” said Beaty.

Meanwhile, Haven have signed teenager Mark Watson on a two-year pro deal. The 17-year-old was a stand-out performer for the club’s reserve-grade last term.

Head of performance Gary Hewer said: “In my view you can’t have enough half-back/hookers who can offer a different dimension.

“We believe we have a good calibre player who can flourish in the professional environment.

“Mark has a fantastic attitude, with great support from his parents, and he knows that he’s got a lot of hard work ahead of him.

“The signing came through our talent identification panel, overseen by Ged Stokes, who has seen him a few times this year and believes he’s a good asset who has the X-factor.

“Mark was an ever-present in last year’s reserve-grade team and had a successful campaign with West Cumbria Under-18s. He’ll hopefully continue to play there until the end of the year.”

First published at 11:39, Thursday, 19 November 2009
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk