Tuesday 22 August 2017 11:29, UK
Batley captain Keegan Hirst, the only openly-gay player in rugby league, believes his decision to come out has played a major role in his club's fairytale season.
The 28-year-old prop has enjoyed his best ever campaign, while the part-time Bulldogs have beaten full-time clubs Bradford and Sheffield Eagles to a place in the top four of the Championship and an outside chance of gaining promotion to Super League.
If Hirst was ever worried his brave decision to open up on his sexuality would affect his performances on the field, Batley's run to the Super 8s Qualifiers put an end to those fears.
"It wasn't a conscious thing but I think my performances on the field speak for themselves," he said. "I think my good year probably is down to that."
Hirst has no regrets over his decision to follow the lead set by Welsh dual-rugby international Gareth Thomas, who came out in December 2009.
"It's worked really well," he said. "Batley's had its most successful year in recent history and it's maybe a bit of a good news story rather than these horror stories you hear about.
"So it's worked out really well for me and Batley has been a big part of that. The lads have really helped as well, I couldn't have done it without them.
"It's all been really positive, it's been overwhelming to be honest, how much press I did get. I'm just a rugby league player who plays for Batley, I'm not a Premiership footballer, so for it to get the amount of attention it did was a bit of a shock.
"But it was really humbling to get all the nice messages and that's continued so I'm really grateful for that."
Hirst, who has also played in the lower league for Hunslet, Dewsbury and Featherstone, looks set to go full-time in Super League, regardless of Batley's performances in the Qualifiers, by following head coach John Kear to Wakefield.
"It's all up in the air in the minute but I'm hoping to get something sorted soon, maybe in the next couple of weeks," Hirst confirmed.
"Every player has aspirations to play in Super League. As a sportsman you want to test yourself against the best week in, week out.
"Getting into that full-time environment makes such a difference so any player worth his salt will tell you that he'd want to have a go. So if the opportunity arose, I would certainly take it."
In the meantime, Hirst will be doing his best to help the Bulldogs continue their fairytale season, starting with Sunday's opening game in the Qualifiers at Hull KR.
"When you look down the Middle 8s fixture list, there really aren't any easy games and you do have to think about where your're going to get a win, but I think if you look too far down the road, you're going to come unstuck, so we'll have to do what we've done this season and just concentrate on the next game," he said.
"What we've achieved so far shows where hard work, determination and a good team spirit can get you, anything is possible."
