Telford Tigers’ defender Adam Jones is relishing the chance to face his younger brother Sam in the EPL next season.
The 20-year-old was the final senior addition to Telford’s rearguard this summer, marking his return to the British game after a seven-year junior career in Canada.
He will be joined in the EPL by 18-year-old Sam, who has signed for likely high-fliers MK Lightning.
The senior Jones brother admitted he’s looking forward to facing his younger sibling when the new season gets under way in September.
He said: “Playing against each other next year is something we’ve been talking about a lot, and are very excited for.
“I’m not sure how strange it will be – we’ve been competing against each other in just about everything you can imagine since we were born.
“We’re both very competitive with each other, and I think it’s just exciting that we’re going to be competing at the professional level next year.
“It won’t just be in our back yard, or on the ice at summer skates.”
Both brothers have followed a similar path in the game – the family moved to Canada after they spent time with Telford’s burgeoning junior system.
Jones added: “While there was definitely an adjusting period when I moved Canada, it didn’t really take too long for me to feel at home, as opposed to living in a foreign country.
“The most exciting thing I think about living in Canada to me and my brother Sam was that we had an outdoor rink right behind our house, which was something we didn’t have in England.
“I think all the time I spent on the ice helped me develop as a player. I’ve been fortunate enough to have some very good coaches over the years, which is why I think the mental aspect of my game is a strength of mine.
That close connection to Telford eased Jones’s decision to return, after initially planning to continue his education in Canada.
He will now join a Tigers organisation that he supported avidly as a youngster – with a return to the top of the EPL already a key target.
“I’ve been following the Tigers closely from Canada for the past few seasons,” he said.
“Next year the goal is obviously to get back on top and win the league, and I think we have a team that is fully capable of doing so.
“We went to most of the Tigers home games when I was in Telford, and one memory I have is me asking my dad if he thought I’d ever be good enough to play for the Tigers.
“He told me he thought I could be, so it’s funny to think that it’s really happening now.”
