BARROW RAIDERS coach Amanda Wilkinson is telling her players to take the small gains ahead of a key run of games.
The fixture compilers weren’t kind to the Cumbrians, handing them home fixtures against last season’s top two sides St Helens (lost 42-6) and Wigan (defeated 74-6) to open the campaign.
Indeed, in the first phase of the season before the league splits in two, Barrow host all the ‘big four’ while having to travel to Featherstone (Saturday), Leigh (Saturday, June 20) and Huddersfield (Sunday, June 28).
Wilkinson hopes her side, who finished seventh last season, don’t lose heart after a rough start which also included Challenge Cup losses at York and Saints as they aim for their first win.
“We have to look at the periods of the games against Wigan and Saints when we competed with them,” said the experienced team chief.
“There were some good patches where we really took them on, with and without the ball.
“Those are the things we will take away and think ‘how can we make them closer, how can we make those spells longer and how we can get a lot more consistent in our performance?’.
“Belief is a massive thing and it’s hard to keep getting the girls to do that when we’ve had a tough start.
“We’ve not had the chance to feel really confident in what we’re doing, so we need to get the girls watching the games and analysing what they’re doing well.
“They’re probably playing a lot better than they were last season, but it’s hard to get the measure of that against the top four.”