Co-operative Championship 1 previews

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Co-operative Championship 1 previews
Topic Started: Mar 18 2010, 08:31 PM (93 Views)
stacey	Mar 18 2010, 08:31 PM Post #1
Administrator Posts: 2,571 Group: Admins Member #1 Joined: May 22, 2009	CO-OPERATIVE CHAMPIONSHIP ONE GATESHEAD THUNDER v LONDON SKOLARS 2pm Jason Payne, Karl Brandt and Rhys Clarke all remain sidelined for Gateshead as coach Chris Hood prepares his team for the their second game in four days. Hood rates Tom Wilson’s chances of playing after a back injury as 50/50. Hood said: “(London coach) James Massara is a great bloke. He’s very astute, he’s been around the game a long time and they’ve got some very good players such as Paul Thorman. “They’re going to be targeting this as a game they can win but we’re having exactly the same preparation as we’d have for any other game. It’s not a make or break game and we don’t need that pressure on the players.” Austen Aggrey could feature for the Skolars but Jermaine Coleman will definitely not play. Massara said: “We don’t target certain games because there’s a genuine belief here that we can compete with anyone in the league. “Gateshead are going through some struggles but we’ll certainly not disrespect them. “They’ve got players that are used to the Co-operative Championship, not Championship One, so it’s another step on our learning journey.” ROCHDALE HORNETS v WORKINGTON TOWN 3pm Rochdale coach John Stankevitch has a major headache after 12 players contracted a flu-like virus. Stankevitch said: “We only had 20 players able to train on Tuesday night, which is the lowest by far since I’ve joined the club.” The Hornets coach is himself suffering from the bug but hopes a handful of players can recover by Sunday. He added: “We were disappointed (at Blackpool) last week. It was the most disappointing performance since I’ve been here. We didn’t do the basics right. You can’t compete when you throw away that much ball.” He continued: “I don’t know how the bookies are coming up with odds because on any day anybody can beat any other side. “Workington have got really strong half backs and as a team they live off completing their sets.” Jack Pedley returns from a bout of tonsillitis. Workington coach Gary Charlton said: “Jack trained on Tuesday and he’s fine.” Charlton added: “We know it’s going to be tough for us, going away from home, but if we’re going to win our away games then we need to play for 80 minutes rather than the 40 we managed against York last week.” SWINTON LIONS v DONCASTER 3pm Lions pair Ian Watson and Aaron Smith are both available again after serving one-match suspensions. Swinton won 52-16 at London Skolars last week and coach Paul Smith will be hoping for a repeat performance against the Dons. Doncaster prop Danny Stanley could return to action after suffering a broken hand against Whitehaven. Lee Gomersall is also fit after recovering from a back problem but Scott Johnson (ankle) is unavailable. Aaron Henry (cheekbone), Craig Fawcett (finger), Grant Edwards (knee) and Nathan Anderson (hamstring) will be checked as the week progresses. Doncaster chief executive Carl Hall said: “The lads should go to Swinton very confident as we are starting to get some sort of momentum going.” YORK CITY KNIGHTS v SOUTH WALES SCORPIONS 3pm Jon Fallon (knee) will be checked later in the week while York assistant coach Chris Thorman will also monitor the performance of the Knights’ reserve team when they play on Thursday night. “There are some spots up for grabs on Sunday for whoever plays well in the reserves,” said Thorman. “Nobody is safe and you have to play well every single week to earn your jersey. We need to get back to proving ourselves. We’ve had some tough training sessions this week and hopefully it’s been a bit of a reality check for some of the boys.” Thorman added: “I’m well aware of the threat that the Scorpions are going to pose. Their past couple of results have shown that they know how to win a game and we have to respect that, but it’s a home game for us and after last week it’s all about us this week. “We’ve had a week to think about poorly we started last week’s game against Workington and we want to get over that this weekend.” Scorpions trio Craig Richards, Steve Parry and Barrie Phillips will all face late fitness checks. David James and Jamie Murphy are to likely to keep their places while Harri Greville impressed as a late call up last week and is pushing for another start this week. Neil Dallimore is back in contention after a bout of illness. South Wales coach Anthony Seibold said: “The game against Doncaster showed that each and every away game will be a big challenge for us. “We know that York, as one of the competition favourites, will be looking to bounce back after their away defeat to Workington last Sunday. Any side that contains players like Chris Thorman is likely to be very dangerous, so we know that we are the underdogs in this encounter.” NORTHERN RAIL CUP HALIFAX v HUNSLET 3pm Halifax coach Matt Calland will assess his team after their trip to Widnes for Thursday’s Co-operative Championship clash. ‘Fax will have fewer than 72 hours before they back up against Hunslet but Hawks coach Paul March is still expecting a fierce battle. March said: “We’re playing against one of the top sides in the Co-operative Championship so we know what to expect.” He added: “Against Oldham last week we were a million miles away from where we want to be. “Our performance wasn’t there and that’s no disrespect to Oldham. They came with a plan and frustrated us, but we’ve got to get over that. We’re giving too many penalties away and playing individual stuff rather than team stuff.” Luke Haigh is Hunslet’s only absentee as he recovers from a broken jaw. March said: “Everybody else is fighting fit but there will be some changes because people need opportunities to stake their claim for the shirt. “After this weekend we’ve got to start looking at the league and hopefully have a bit of consistency about our team selection. “The Oldham performance has added a bit more pressure on our shoulders. I expect us to up the ante from that game and if Halifax don’t let us do that then we might get frustrated again. It’s a learning curve. It’s going to be a tough battle but if we can get the performance we’re looking for, then who knows – we might even get the result as well.”



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