LOOSE forward Damian Ball today started his Dewsbury Rams career with one eye on the elite.

The former York Rugby League Club player began training with his new team-mates confident the first division club can reach for the Super League in 1998.

The 22-year-old signed for the Rams last night in a player plus cash deal which saw the Wasps net a reported £6,000 and centre Shaun Austerfield.

Rams coach Neil Kelly targeted Ball as a player with first division potential at the back end of the 1997 campaign and pursued his interest throughout the close season.

And Ball, one of the Wasps' success stories last term, declared signing for the New Crown Flatt club was a dream move.

"Neil Kelly is rated as one of the best coaches outside Super League and we are both ambitious people, so hopefully we will reach our goals," said the former Featherstone Amateurs player.

"Dewsbury will be a major force in the first division this year and I want to play my part in making sure Dewsbury will be entering the Super League in the not too distant future. Looking at the side, it is achievable.

"They have made a few decent signings from the Super League and it is looking good. I am looking forward to it and it is closer to home, right on the doorstep."

Ball told the Evening Press he would have faced a season on the sidelines if a transfer had failed to materialise.

"If it meant sitting out a season, I would have done that. I am lucky they have come to a deal so I will be playing next season," he said."Leaving York was not a hard decision to make because the atmosphere at the club at the end of last season told me it was time for a new challenge.

"I will miss the lads and wish them all the best for the forthcoming season. During the last few weeks I have spoken to other clubs but I decided Dewsbury would be the best move for me."

A virtual ever-present for the Wasps in the last two seasons, Ball felt moving from centre to loose forward last May was a major boost to his career.

He said: "I enjoyed loose forward because I would rather be in the middle of the field. I can play a few positions, which is better than just playing one.

"It is going to be different not playing at Huntington Stadium but it is a step up and a higher level, and it is what I needed. I need to be in division one and hopefully I can go up from there."

Ball could make his Rams debut in the Silk Cut Challenge Cup third round tie with Thornhill on Sunday, most likely starting on the bench.

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