WARRINGTON Wolves’ PDRL side secured a home win when they were named Sports Team of the Year during the 2018 Warrington Guardian Inspiration Awards at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Having only been formed in September last year, the Warrington Wolves Charitable Foundation physical disability rugby league team were crowned world champions when they defeated the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Australia this summer.

And they now have another trophy to add to the cabinet, with a win on home turf at the Inspiration Awards.

Team captain Jason Elkaleh said: “We’re just a group of disabled lads who want to play rugby.

“We went from a rainy day in Vicky Park to being named world champions at the ANZ Stadium.

“The snowball effect was crazy - it became an avalanche, it was scary.

“It was a great experience and a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Fellow player Josh Whipday added: “I had always wanted to go to Australia anyway, so to go there and play the sport that I love was a dream come true.”

Comedian and host of Channel 4’s the Last Leg Adam Hills, who helped to found the team, sent a congratulatory message to his teammates which was played during the ceremony.

The 48-year-old said he was ‘immensely proud’ to be a part of the team and that he had been ‘made to feel incredibly welcome’ in Warrington.

Former England international full-back Shaun Briscoe, who is now partnerships manager at the foundation and featured for the PDRL team as an able-bodied player, said: “It was the first trophy I’d won, so it was a good group of lads to win it with.

“The things that the players have overcome are amazing.

“It gives you that love of rugby league back - I had lost that a little bit when I finished playing, but to play alongside these guys is inspiring.”

Foundation disability development manager Craig Thomason added: “Every single one of the players has a unique story, but they have that shared love of rugby league.

“They’ve grown not just as a team but as friends and family too.”

Also nominated in the Sportsperson of the Year category were Tara Jones and Nick Jones.

A former Crosfield junior player and lifeguard at Penketh Pool, Tara became the first woman to officiate a Super League match at the age of 21 when she was in-goal judge at Wigan Warriors v Wakefield Trinity in March.

The England international player also captained St Helens during the inaugural women’s Super League season.

Meanwhile, Warrington Athletic Club member Nick became British Masters 10,000km Track Champion, British Masters 5km Road Champion and British Masters 10km - despite having been diagnosed with a rare liver disease and Crohn’s disease, and nearly being forced to give up running.