SWINTON LIONS are looking to make the most of back-to-back home games on their return to action after a lean period in terms of fixtures.
After beating Workington at Heywood Road, this Sunday the Lions take on Keighley, now coached by their former boss Alan Kilshaw.
Ahead of the Town clash, Paul Wood’s side had played just once in the previous five weekends, going down to high-flying Midlands Hurricanes.
Fullback Dan Abram said: “Having 16 weeks back to back takes its toll mentally and physically, so having a bit of time away from rugby to replenish and rest up resets you. It helps you reflect and at same time when you come back in you’re ready to rip in and go again.”
Now there is some regularity to the Swinton schedule, with just one weekend off in nine.
And Wood told Lions TV: “It was good to freshen up and have some time off, let the lads recharge. They came in with loads of energy, which is good, putting some things right and improving some things in terms of what went wrong against Midlands.
“Full credit to Midlands, they’re a really good team, big and aggressive, and they defend really well. It was lapses in concentration and switching off in vital moments that cost us, things just can’t do against good teams.
“It’s good to play at home. The dedication and support the fans give us is really appreciated. They travelled to Midlands and were very vocal and it was good to interact with them.
“We like playing at Heywood Road. We’ve not played much rugby over the last six weeks, we’ve just been trying to stay game ready. We’re training hard, we’re doing a lot of good things, but it can be disruptive not playing back-to-back.
“Every single week we’ve got to maximise our potential and switch on for the full 80 minutes. We’ve had a big focus on mindset and on how we’re going to push ourselves when we face adversity.”