We are pleased to confirm the signing of half-back Morgan Punchard on a deal until the end of the 2026 following his mutual release from fellow Championship side Rochdale Hornets. Eagle eyed fans of the club may remember his brief stint on loan from Dewsbury Rams in 2020 prior to the season being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Morgan, 27, would see his professional career start in 2016 when he signed for Halifax Panthers reserve side, which gave him the opportunity to make his professional debut on dual-registration for South Wales Ironmen against Doncaster RLFC in 2017. After playing for Halifax’s reserves for a couple of seasons, he would sign for fellow Championship side Featherstone Rovers where he would again largely feature for their reserve side, making his first-team debut for the club in 2019.
He would then sign for Championship side Dewsbury Rams in 2020 and make a single appearance for the Rams before playing two games for Coventry Bears on dual-registration ahead of the Championship and League One seasons being cancelled. For the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Morgan would continue playing in the National Conference League for established amateur outfit Lock Lane.
Punchard’s opportunity for regular gametime in the professional ranks came in 2023 when he signed for then League One side Hunlset at the same time as fellow Hurricane Danny Barcoe. Whilst he would find his opportunities at South Leeds limited to two games, he would spend time on loan at Cornwall before signing permanently for the Choughs in July of that year. He would re-sign with Cornwall ahead of the 2024 season and would go on to make a further 11 appearances for the then-Penryn based outfit.
Punchard would swap the south-west for the north-west in 2025 as he was snapped up by Rochdale Hornets and slotted immediately into a partnership with fellow former Hornet Lewis Else that would see him make 19 appearances either starting or on the bench. Morgan initially penned an extension with Rochdale until the end of this season, but following a single further appearance away to Swinton Lions in mid-January he requested a release from the Crown Oil Arena so he could explore opportunities elsewhere.
After learning of the deal, we spoke with Morgan about his decision to sign with the Canes:
I’m excited to be joining the Canes for the rest of this season – they are a team moving in the right direction.
Mark and Leigh have already put a great squad together and my hope is that I can strengthen it by fighting for a place in the 17 and bringing what experience I have to the group.
We also spoke with Head Coach Mark Dunning about bringing Morgan into the squad:
We’re delighted to welcome Morgan and his family to the club and the wider Canes family.
Morgan is an intelligent half and has plenty of experience under his belt at various levels of the game, so when we were made aware he was a free agent we acted to bring him in as quick as we could to add cover and competition to our existing spine combinations.
I know Morgan is hungry to take the opportunity he’s been given with the club and we’re looking forward to seeing him settle in and challenge those around him.
Morgan will wear the number 29 jersey for the 2026 season and goes straight into contention for Mark’s 21-man squad to take on Oldham this Sunday. Fans can still buy advanced tickets and save up to £2 on game day prices by clicking HERE.
