SWINTON LIONS coach Paul Wood hopes he and his staff are onto something with their pre-season preparations.
The Lions scheduled matches either side of the Christmas break – the first a 6-30 defeat to North Wales Crusaders – with Wood keen to ensure his players get proper time off to spend with their families.
“It’s been going well. We’ve been working on our combinations and doing a lot of attack work,” he said.
“We’ve had a couple of behind-closed-doors sessions against Super League teams, and we’re happy with where we’re at.
“Last year, we didn’t have the luxury of a friendly and I think it’s important we have a games before and after Christmas, because the season is soon upon us.
“It gets pretty demanding. With these lads we have to take into consideration they’re working as well and then coming into training.
“It’s important they spend time with their families over Christmas so we do give them a break because they are working hard.
“Recovery is just as important as training. We’ve been pretty good with that, especially last season when you look at the injuries situation. We didn’t have many and there’s a lot of factors behind that.
“You do train hard, but it’s just as important to recover physically and mentally, so the players get time off, then come back immediately after the New Year with all guns blazing for the start of the season.
“The warm-up matches are a great opportunity to see the new signings in action and we’ve got some lads on trial, looking to put their best foot forward.
“I keep saying to them I want selection headaches, that’s what I want throughout the year.
“I don’t want it to be that I know my starting 17 and it becomes on paper really easy to pick. I want it to be a difficult choice, I want lads fighting for the shirt and playing for the badge.
“There’s a lot of these lads looking to make a name for themselves. They’re young lads who’ve got aspirations, so I’m looking forward to seeing them take to the field and seeing what they can do, and then it’s our job to get the best out of them.”
Wood has made veteran forward Kenny Baker captain.