SWINTON LIONS coach Anthony Murray isn’t letting injury concerns get him down as he continues his bid to steer his side up the table.
Halfbacks Jordy Gibson (knee) and Reece Briers (ankle) are ongoing concerns, while prop Jordan Brown has a broken hand and backrower Aaron Willis concussion issues, which are being monitored.
Murray seemed to be getting to grips with the role he took on in April when Swinton picked up successive wins at Midlands, then Keighley, in June.
But then came narrow defeats at Halifax and his former club Whitehaven, before a 56-0 home loss to Doncaster and Saturday’s 34-10 setback against Newcastle at Blaydon.
Now Swinton, who have signed backrower Dylan Kelly-Duffy after he left Rochdale, with his twin and fellow forward Trent already on the books, are preparing to host Batley on Sunday before their derby at Salford on Saturday week, August 8.
“It never rains but it pours in terms of injuries, but we’ll crack on,” said Murray, who signed Gibson from North Wales soon after his appointment.
“You’re bound to miss good players, and it means reshuffling, which also has an effect in other areas.
“We’ve had a couple of strong opponents, and against Doncaster, I don’t think the scoreline really reflected the game.
“The boys put a lot of effort in and in the first half, we had 24 play-the-balls in their 20 but just weren’t clinical enough.
“To have that level of possession and good field position against a side like Doncaster takes some doing.
“We also had some good field position in the second half but either coughed up the ball or kicked too early in the set and let them off the hook.
“We need to keep working and be more consistent in our processes.”