Darlington Mowden Park are pleased to announce that winger Ollie Walker has extended his stay at the club. The 26 year-old has made 19 1st XV appearances since joining the club from Tynedale over the summer, and was delighted to be staying at the Arena: “The main reason for me re-signing is simply me enjoying being a part of the club - both playing but also socially. I’m enjoying my rugby here and there is great set of lads at the club.”

Head coach Garry Law was equally pleased to be keeping another valuable member of the squad: “It’s great to have another North East lad committing to the club for next season. Ollie has got better and better as the season has gone on - he’s a constant threat now with ball in hand and more often than not beating the first defender. We’re looking forward to his second season with us where can continue to build on the performances from this season and hopefully start the season with a bang!”

Walker made his debut earlier this season in the home win over Rotherham and scored his first try the following week against Old Elthamians. More recently the winger has scored 3 tries in his last 5 games, and he admitted it may have taken him a while to adjust to the new challenge: “I feel like I have settled in well now, although I probably took a few games to properly adjust, just getting used to how the team plays. The highlights for me were big wins against some of the top teams such as OE’s at home and Rosslyn Park away.”

Looking ahead to what will be his second season with the club, Walker added: “Next season I’m looking forward to pushing on again and I’m excited to see just how well we can do as a team. We know we’ve been a bit inconsistent this year so with an improvement in that area next season I’m sure we can be challenging at the top.”

“The main goals for me are just to stay injury free so I can be involved as much as possible and keep enjoying my rugby here ....and hopefully play well!”

You can see Ollie and his DMP teammates in action on Saturday when they take on Caldy at the Northern Echo Arena. Tickets for the game will be available on the day priced at £10 for adults, £8 for concessions and FREE for U16s.