Super League clubs on the Ball

A trio of top flight clubs - headed by reigning champions Bradford Bulls - are understood to be tracking the 23-year-old's progress.

Ball has impressed a series of scouts with his performances at loose forward for First Division Grand Final contenders Dewsbury Rams, the club he joined from York last year.

A series of sparkling displays in Wasps colours last term caught the eye of Rams coach Neil Kelly, who secured the former Featherstone Amateur with an offer of £6,000 plus centre Shaun Austerfield.

After struggling with a rib cartilage injury earlier in the season, Ball is now back to his consistent best, bagging eight tries in Dewsbury's rise to third in the First Division.

Ball confirmed reports that Castleford Tigers and London Broncos had joined the Bulls in monitoring his situation.

"I don't want to say it is definitely going to happen, I want to keep my feet on the ground. It is just all a dream at the moment. You have got to keep playing well," said Ball, who is hopeful a Super League move may materialise in the close season.

"Neil has said Dewsbury will not stand in my way. He knows if you have got potential you have got to play at the highest level. I would go anywhere if I got a full-time contract.

"I am not unhappy at Dewsbury but you can't turn down Super League."

Ball joined York in May 1995, signed by then coach Stewart Horton following a trial period, and enjoyed virtual ever-present status during his last two seasons at Huntington Stadium.

His career accelerated midway through last term, following a switch from centre to loose forward, and his rapid progress has been maintained in 1998.

He said: "I have been playing well and have not missed out on too many games so my confidence is up at the moment. I am really enjoying it this season.

"The spirit at Dewsbury is excellent and we have been doing well because everybody wants to work for each other. The First Division is a little bit quicker but physically I don't think there is much difference at all."

Although Super League is Ball's ultimate goal, the Pontefract-based forward has one eye on the televised Grand Final at the McAlpine Stadium in September.

TELEVISION CASH IN PIPELINE FOR YORK

York Rugby League Club could receive a further financial boost if they win promotion after it was revealed first division matches look set be screened on terrestrial television next summer.

The Rugby Football League met with executives from Yorkshire and Granada Television yesterday and came close to agreeing a deal.

Peter Rowe, the RFL's press officer, said the deal would primarily be for first division games but there was also a possibility of the second division becoming involved.

Though no further details have yet been put in place, Rowe said he was hopeful an agreement would be reached soon.

"We are confident a deal can be struck shortly. Once an agreement is in place, and we are very close to that, we can start putting the meat on the bones," he said.

If the deal goes ahead, it would signal a long awaited return of league matches to terrestrial television.

Since Super League's agreement with Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation was struck, league games have only been available to viewers of Sky TV with terrestrial television's coverage being restricted to the BBC's broadcast of the Challenge Cup.

The deal would see the game return to terrestrial television on a weekly basis for the first time in more than six years.

Yorkshire TV dropped Scrumdown in 1992 but screened action from the 1994 Australian tour and have expressed interest in reintroducing the game if News Corporation were prepared to release secondary broadcasting rights.

First and Second Division clubs won that concession last month as part of the package for a renegotiation contract for the game.

If it goes ahead it could prompt a rethink in plans by lower league clubs to revert back to winter fixtures.

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