Home-grown forward Rick Plant has hailed Telford Tigers’ EPL title triumph as one of his biggest achievements in the game.

The 39-year-old, who grew up in Telford, added a seventh league title to his record with victory over Bracknell Bees on Saturday.

Plant returned to Shropshire four years ago after collecting a string of honours with Guildford Flames and was part of Telford’s championship-winning side in 2015.

He said: “It feels pretty special, winning the league title after everything the guys have been through – it is a huge accomplishment for everyone.

“This is my second in Telford but seventh overall, which is shock to me every time I hear the numbers. For me, being Telford born and bred, this is huge.

“This is what it is all about, so I am over the moon.

“It was surreal happening on Saturday night, as we were relying on the Milton Keynes result for us to win it at home.

“When that news came through it all sank in, so to actually win it in front of the home fans was huge.

“The supporters have stuck with us through thick and thin – we’re all very proud.

“We were pretty excited on the bench and the game at hand was kind of taking a back seat towards the end. We were all focusing on what was about to happen.”

Telford now have four games left before the end-of-season play-offs following Sunday’s return win over Bracknell, and Plant pledged there will no let-up in his side’s performances.

“We don’t want to take anything lightly now,” he added.

“We’ve got to keep our momentum going, not take any nights off and make sure we don’t go into the play-offs with any bad habits.

“Everyone has got to play hard over the next few weeks, take that into the play-offs and try to get another trophy.”

(Image permission: Steve Brodie)