The 25-year-old former Wales U20 cap has joined the club after a brief spell with Esher in National League 1 in England. He has had previous Premiership experience with Aberavon and Swansea and is included among the replacements tonight (Friday, 29 November).
His arrival at the Brewery Field comes at a time when the Ravens are six points adrift at the bottom of the table and fast turning into everyone’s favourites for the dreaded drop into the Championship. The bottom side will automatically be relegated this season.
“I’m looking forward to joining Bridgend and playing in what I know as a challenging and tough league. My father also played for Bridgend many years ago, so I’m sure he will have a sense of nostalgia when he comes to watch the games,” said Dudley-Jones.
The Ravens have picked up only one win this season, 17-12 at home against Merthyr, and have scored a mere 21 points in their three away trips to date this season. With Llanelli, who finished bottom last season and only held onto their Premiership status after winning a play-off game against Pontypool, eight points ahead of them in ninth, it is an important game for both sides.
Paul Fisher’s Llanelli side has won its last three games and will head into the ‘eight pointer’ full of confidence and expectation.
“After what happened last season I said I never wanted to be in that position again. Given where Bridgend are in the table this is a big game for both of us,” said head coach Fisher.
“We know what it feels like to be fighting for your existence and Bridgend will pose a huge threat. When you look at the league this season, probably with the exception of Cardiff, on their day any team can be anybody else.
“We were able to freshen up our squad at the start of the season and it was good for a number of our players to get exposure in the Celtic Cup matches. On top of that, we’ve worked hard on making ourselves a tough team to score against.
“Playing at home will be a big bonus for us, but we are under no illusions just how hard a night it is going to be.”
The game at Parc Y Scarlets is the only Premiership fixture over the weekend because of the Wales v Barbarians match.
Llanelli: Tom Rogers; Eray Wilson, Ryan Davies, Jonny Lewis (captain), Kalum Evans; Ashley Sutton, Dane Blacker; Rhys Fawcett, Daf Hughes, Simon Gardiner, Danny Drake, Josh Helps, Ed Kennedy, Jacob Lewis, Joe Miles
Reps: Greg George, Craig Thomas, Alex Jeffries, Chris Long, Nathan Hart, Iwan Temblett, Liam Hutchings, Aaron Grabham
Bridgend: Owen Howe; Mike Powell, Stuart Floyd Ellis, Nathan Edwards (captain), Dewi Cross; Jamie Murphy, Chris Williams; Rhys Forse, Gareth Harvey, Cai Lewis, Jack Pope, Ben Jones, Travis Huntley, Joe Grabham, Morgan Strong
Reps: Garin Lloyd, Rhys Davies, Adam Court, James Little, Ryan Hall, Rob Dudley Jones, Connor Tantum, Jacob Chilcott
