WHITEHAVEN coach James Newton was quick to congratulate one of his mentors Anthony Murray after his side slumped to defeat at Swinton – but then questioned his players’ mental strength.
After his career was cut short by serious neck injury sustained while playing for Haven in September 2024, Newton joined the Cumbrian club’s coaching staff under Murray and succeeded him when he left in March then switched to Swinton.
While Murray’s men sealed a second successive win by a 40-12 scoreline, it was a third league loss on the bounce and fourth in all competitions for Haven and Newton, whose side fought back from 12-0 down to level by the break, but then fell away.
“Well done to Swinton and Muzza,” he said. “But the way they went through us really disappointed me.
“Having got back to 12-12 and started the second half well, we let them off the hook and gave away a penalty they scored off.
“We didn’t recover from that and as well as being better defensively, because we knew Swinton would come at us and be direct, we need to become stronger mentally and make sure we stick to the plan.”