BARROW RAIDERS hooker Nathan Mossop is looking forward to the prospect of three further Cumbrian derbies this season after helping his side to victory at Whitehaven.
The Raiders, who overcame difficult conditions as they won 18-4 on the back of a powerful first-half performance, have home and away clashes with Workington on Sunday, May 15 and Sunday, June 12 respectively while Whitehaven visit on Sunday, July 10.
After overcoming Sheffield 22-10 in the opening round, beating Whitehaven made it two wins from two for Paul Crarey’s team, who were promoted alongside Workington last year, going into their home clash with Newcastle.
“When the fixtures came out, as a Cumbrian, I was looking at when we were playing Whitehaven and Workington,” said the 33-year-old, who is in his 13th season with the club and has been granted a testimonial by the RFL.
“We’ve got a foundation of local players in our side, so it does really add that spice to these games.
“You’ve got a lot of friends, family and people who you work with coming to watch as well, so it adds to the excitement.”
Despite wind, rain and hail, a crowd of 1,795 turned out at the LEL Arena, where Barrow were 18-0 ahead at half-time after tries by Dan Toal, Ryan Shaw and Hakim Miloudi.
That’s after 1,927 turned out for Sheffield’s visit to Barrow, and Mossop, added: “We’re fortunate to have a fantastic fanbase.
“Our supporters are a massive lift for us, especially when we get into that grind against teams who are competing well. It gives us that little extra push.”
Barrow head to Bradford on Sunday, and Mossop continued: “For us as players, it’s just about turning up week in, week out and focusing on the things we’re in control of.
“We’ve got the opportunity to build some momentum and go into tough games in a positive way.”
+++++
BRADFORD BULLS coach John Kear is more interested in muck and nettles than roses as he prepares his team for their Valentine’s night trip to Leigh.
Having hailed his players for the workrate which helped them register a 46-16 first-round win at Dewsbury, the veteran team chief labelled them “awful” after the follow-up 28-14 loss to his former club Sheffield at Odsal.
Kear, who has taken Huddersfield’s Wales international secondrow Chester Butler on a season-long loan, is demanding a big improvement against Leigh.
And he has spent the last week driving home his mantra that “to be a good team, you have to do the muck and nettles”.
Kear pointed out that the performance against a Sheffield side coached by his former Eagles playmaker Mark Aston and including a string of ex-Bradford players underlined how crucial consistency is for a team to be challenging at the top of the table.
And he added: “It’s a message that will be succinctly put to the players.”
Kear, who was without experienced fullback Elliot Kear against Sheffield after the Wales international picked up a leg injury the previous week, but handed a club debut to winger Ryan Millar, who scored ten tries for the Eagles last season, added: “After looking so hungry and having that winners’ edge against Dewsbury, we were awful.
“We still had chances to win it, and after going 12-6 up, we just needed to rack up a few completed sets.
“But we let them straight back in, the same after we went 14-12 up, and from then it just got worse and worse.
“Our attitude was completely unacceptable. We didn’t deserve anything from the game. If we’d have won, it would have been a travesty of justice.”
Bradford and Leigh last met during the 2019 Championship campaign.
The Bulls were beaten 52-20 at Leigh Sports Village after a 26-12 home win earlier in the season.
+++++
FEATHERSTONE ROVERS are focused on getting slicker and stronger as the season goes on, according to recent recruit Adam Cuthbertson, who will combine playing with a role as one of coach Brian McDermott’s right-hand men.
The former Leeds and York prop made his debut from the bench as Rovers toppled Leigh, seen by most pundits as their biggest rivals for promotion to Super League, in front of 4,562 and the the Premier Sports cameras.
McDermott’s men built on their opening victory at York with a 28-6 win in difficult conditions at the Millennium Stadium, and having visited Workington, host London Broncos on Saturday.
Ex-NRL star Cuthbertson, 36, cut his coaching teeth in the women’s game, and is enjoying working alongside his old Leeds boss McDermott and Ian Hardman.
“It’s still early, and we’re not getting carried away,” he said. “There’s a long way to go, and all we want to do is focus on ourselves and work to get better.”
Featherstone gave a debut to star Samoa international centre Joey Leilua against Leigh, and also fielded Scotland back Ben Hellewell against his former club, while Dane Chisholm made a first appearance of the season.
Former Melbourne Storm halfback Ryley Jacks and another Australian, prop Ben Mathiou, are also joining, and Cuthbertson continued: “They’re good signings, and we’re looking forward to seeing how they go.”
McDermott, who succeeded James Webster in the wake of last season’s Million Pound Game defeat by Toulouse, says it’s a case of adding to an already-capable player pool.
“We won’t read too much into the results so far, but what I do know is that I’m in charge of a tough team,” he said.
“They were already good before I got here, and we saw some awesome defensive work against Leigh.
“We saw their ability to work hard for each other and they’ll keep doing it again and again.”
+++++
LEIGH CENTURIONS coach Adrian Lam says there’s plenty to be positive about as he eyes a victory over Bradford tonight (February 14) – despite defeat by major promotion rivals Featherstone.
The relegated Centurions went down 28-6 at a cold, wet and muddy Millennium Stadium, and aim to hit back in a second successive Monday-night match in front of the Premier Sports cameras.
Owner Derek Beaumont is underpinning the push for a quick return to Super League, but former Wigan coach Lam, recruited by Leigh’s head of rugby Chris Chester in November, says he doesn’t feel any pressure.
“Derek has been great with me and Chris and I go back to when we played alongside each other at Wigan. We all want the same thing, and I don’t think about expectations, I just get on with the job,” he said.
Former Wakefield coach Chester has led a major squad overhaul and Lam continued: “He has done some outstanding work to get the numbers up.
“But it’s a new group, and there is a lot of work to do to moving forward.
“With the journey we’re on, if we are going to have a bump, this is probably the time, and the Featherstone game gave me a few pointers.
“I’ll be getting to know the players that bit better and getting them in the right place to move forward.”
Leigh, who beat Whitehaven 50-4 in the opening round, faced Rovers without co-captain Adam Sidlow, while his fellow frontrower Chris Green sustained an army injury early on.
“Those two lead the team, so especially against a side like Featherstone, we missed them,” added Lam.
“We had a poor start, and once we got behind on scoreboard, it was too difficult.
“We didn’t have enough patience or produce enough attacking options, and when we did have some chances, it was is if nobody could get moving.”
After hosting Bradford, Leigh visit York on Sunday.
+++++
SHEFFIELD EAGLES secondrow Joel Farrell says he and his teammates are happy to hit the road over the opening months of the season.
With work on their Olympic Legacy Park stadium in the steel city still ongoing, the Eagles won’t play there until Good Friday, April 15, against London Broncos.
By that time, Mark Aston’s men will have played seven times in the Championship and at least once in the Challenge Cup.
Having lost 22-10 at Barrow in round one, Sheffield bounced back to win 28-14 at Bradford.
Former Bulls Liam Johnson, Vila Halafihi and Ross Oakes scored tries (four further ex-Bradford players, Kris Welham, Mikey Wood, Liam Kirk and Evan Hodgson also featured).
Having faced Dewsbury, Sheffield head to Farrell’s other former club Batley on Sunday, before a Challenge Cup fourth-round match.
After that come league games at Workington and Whitehaven, then a trip to Featherstone, from whom Aston signed former Hull KR and Salford centre Welham over the closed-season.
Having played at a partially-completed OLP, on the site of the old Don Valley Stadium, in 2018 and 2019, in 2020, Sheffield had ‘home’ games at Wakefield and two Doncaster grounds, Castle Park and the Keepmoat Stadium, where they were based last season.
And Jamaica international Farrell, vice-captain to Anthony Thackeray, said: “With us having been on the road for the last few years, it’s not really much different.
“It’s tough but we have to grind as much as we can and pick up as many points as we can.
“It’s the Championship, and anyone can beat anyone on their day.
“We are looking at the games in blocks, and we know that if we hit all these little goals we have set, we will be sitting where we want to be.”
Eagles hooker James Davey, who was in his second spell at the club and played 18 times last season, has announced his retirement at 32.
+++++
WIDNES VIKINGS coach Simon Finnigan may have to play the waiting game, but he is already looking forward to his team’s next home outing.
That’s after a turnout of 3,623 for the 70-18 win over Workington in a Championship round-two match dedicated to the memory of Liam Walsh, the former Vikings player who died aged 23 in September after being hit by a car.
Having visited Halifax in round three, Widnes travel to Dewsbury next Monday (February 21) for a Premier Sports-televised game before visiting Leigh in the Challenge Cup.
They then host Barrow in another Monday-night Premier date on March 7, and Finnigan, whose side started the season with a 34-12 victory at London Broncos, wants to provide entertainment for viewers and supporters inside the DCBL Stadium alike.
“I said before the Workington game that rather than listen to me talk about the team, I wanted the fans to come and judge for themselves, and it was great to see so many,” he said.
“Full credit to the Workington supporters, because they were loud as well.”
Widnes labelled the match ‘One for Walshy’, and Finnigan explained: “We felt it really important to put a performance on, and I’m pleased we did that.”
Twelve tries were totted up against Town, including one from debutant winger Brad Holroyd, signed from Workington, and a hat-trick by secondrow Adam Lawton, who made his first appearance of the campaign as seasoned former England scrum-half Matty Smith chalked up the 350th of his career.
“Adam caused some damage, and I was pleased for Matty. That many games is a great achievement,” added Finnigan.
“A good few of them have been real top-end Super League matches, and it’s great to see him getting that bit of swagger back.
“I was pleased with the whole team, because while there were some scratchy parts, we did some good things and scored some really silky tries.”
+++++
YORK CITY KNIGHTS coach James Ford is hoping for the right kind of selection dilemma when Leigh visit the LNER Stadium on Sunday.
Liam Harris, the halfback who arrived from Halifax during the closed-season, will be available after completing a three-match suspension for punching during the pre-season clash with Castleford when the City Knights visited Batley in round three.
And Ford, who also brought in experienced Jamie Ellis from Leigh, was able to field Australian Brendan O’Hagan following his recovery from hip surgery for the 30-2 home second-round win over Dewsbury.
He had to pair Matty Marsh, normally a fullback, and Ellis in the opening game at home to Featherstone, who won 30-12.
Against Dewsbury, Marsh, Ellis and O’Hagan all claimed tries.
The Knights recruited O’Hagan from the development ranks at Wests Tigers, where he learned from Benji Marshall, ahead of the 2021 campaign.
But a series of injuries meant the 23-year-old was limited to just eight appearances during his maiden season in England.
“I’m proud of how Brendan has conducted himself after his surgery,” said Ford, who had to deal with a raft of injury issues last year.
“He’s a key personality and you can see that in our meetings and when the players are giving feedback to one another. He’s got a really good understanding of the game.
“We had a good combination with him, Jamie and Marshy (at fullback) against Dewsbury.
“And when Liam comes back, we’ve got a selection headache for a different reason, which is a problem that I’d have loved to have had over the last couple of years.”
Ford says there’s plenty more to come from his side.
“We’re one pass here and there or a little bit of execution here and there from really troubling teams,” he explained.
“There’s a whole heap of new and newish combinations and we will get better through the season.”
+++++
BATLEY BULLDOGS prop Michael Ward says the Bulldogs’ focus has to be on bettering, not just matching, last season.
After getting to within one win of the 2021 Million Pound Game, Craig Lingard’s side went into their home match against York on two wins our of two, at home to Halifax and away to Newcastle.
They host Sheffield on Sunday, and experienced Ireland international Ward, who is in his fifth season at Batley after moving from Oldham, says that while Lingard will ensure none of his players get carried away, there’s no reason why the squad shouldn’t be aiming high.
“A lot of people said we overachieved last year, but we don’t agree, we thought we did what we did on merit,” said the 31-year-old.
“We’ve got a lot of team spirit and resolve. There were plenty of times we stuck in games and got the important points late on.
“While we’ve added a few players, there’s quite a bit of continuity in the squad, and we believe we can develop further.”
+++++
DEWSBURY RAMS coach Lee Greenwood accepts his new-look side have to learn fast if they are to avoid a season of struggle.
The Rams made twelve signings, the latest on-loan Huddersfield forward Robson Stevens, after climbing clear of the danger zone with a late resurgence last year.
But Greenwood, who works to a tight budget, pointed out: “We have recruited a lot of players who aren’t seasoned at this level.”
After going down 46-16 at home to Bradford, Dewsbury were then beaten 30-2 at York.
And Greenwood added: “They are going to have to quickly learn the standard of performance required at this level of the game.”
Having hosted Sheffield, the Rams are now getting ready for a home appearance in front of the Premier Sports cameras against Widnes next Monday, February 21.
Giants Academy product Stevens, 19, made ten loan appearances for Dewsbury last season.
+++++
HALIFAX PANTHERS coach Simon Grix can’t yet give a projected recovery time for his new forward Brad Knowles.
The 28-year-old former Sheffield man was hospitalised after damaging a hip and hamstring early in his league debut for the Panthers against Batley.
Knowles’ injury, sustained soon after coming off the bench, added to Grix’s concerns after the 30-18 opening-round defeat at the Fox’s Biscuits Stadium.
But his spirits were partially raised when Halifax bounced back by beating London Broncos 28-0 at The Shay.
It wasn’t until the final 20 minutes that Grix’s team took control, and he said: “The first half was a lot like the second half at Batley.
“There were too many errors and we turned the ball over cheaply too often, and that’s something we need to tighten up on, especially when the conditions are the way they have been lately.
“In the last quarter, we were more free-flowing and confident, and in the end we got what we deserved.
“Rather than dip our toe in at the start, if we’d have gone all in, the door would have opened sooner.”
The Panthers, who hosted Widnes in round three, make the trip up to Workington on Sunday.
+++++
LONDON BRONCOS believe Australian hooker Calum Gahan will fill the gap left by the Dec O’Donnell’s departure.
Having penned a two-year deal, the Ireland international left on the eve of the season after struggling to settle in the the capital, and rejoined Workington, whom he helped win promotion from League 1 last year.
Now Gahan will provide competition for compatriot Dean Parata, who signed from Featherstone during the closed-season.
The 24-year-old has switched from Norths Devils, for whom he has made 38 appearances.
He played nine times last season, missing out on the Queensland Cup Grand Final, in which Wynnum Manly Seagulls were beaten 16-10, after Danny Levi, who has since joined Huddersfield, returned to the Devils after a spell in the NRL with Brisbane Broncos.
“Calum follows the trend of signings we have made with the fact he is young, eager and is of good character,” explained coach Jermaine Coleman, whose side visit Featherstone on Saturday.
“He is an exciting player and will certainly add punch to both our attack and defence.”
+++++
NEWCASTLE THUNDER forward Alex Foster has played at Old Trafford and Wembley – but says success with Thunder would be right up there with his top achievements.
The secondrow was an eye-catching closed-season capture from Castleford by the North-East club, who have gone full-time in a bid to further their long-term aim of reaching Super League.
And 28-year-old Foster, who started out at Leeds and had a season at London Broncos before spending five years at Castleford, playing in the 2017 Grand Final and last year’s Challenge Cup final, is enjoying the switch on a two-year deal.
“There is so much potential here, with young players coming through, the facilities and everything behind the club,” he said.
“If we were able to get into Super League, it would be one of the best achievements of my career, a legacy.”
After winning at Workington in round one, Newcastle were beaten 32-14 by Batley in their first home match.
Having visited Barrow, they are back in action at Kingston Park against Whitehaven on Saturday.
+++++
WHITEHAVEN coach Jonty Gorley will carry on repeating the key message ‘complete to compete’ as he works to rekindle the kind of form which took the Cumbrian club to last year’s play-offs.
His side headed into the round-three game at London Broncos having suffered defeats at Leigh (50-4) and at home to their county rivals Barrow (18-4).
In the second of them, the damage was done in the first half, when the visitors claimed all their points.
Centre Connor Holliday crossed in the second half, but it was too little, too late, and Gorley said:
“We were seven or eight completed sets behind Barrow after only 25 minutes and you can’t win matches with those figures. It takes it’s toll and it wasn’t good enough.
“We gave away too many penalties in attacking positions, we had a man (Guy Graham) in the sin bin, and couldn’t control the ball.
“We put things right in the second half, but we had left ourselves far too much to do.”
Whitehaven visit Newcastle on Saturday.
+++++
WORKINGTON TOWN coach Chris Thorman says he’s confident his promoted side will adapt to the demands of the second tier.
Town, who last played at this level in 2016, went into their third-round home clash with Featherstone having shipped 90 points in their first two matches.
A 20-6 Derwent Park defeat by Newcastle was followed by a 70-18 loss at Widnes, but Thorman insists there were positives to pick, particularly in the first half, when Conor Fitzsimmons and secondrow Caine Barnes scored tries (Joe Brown notched after the break).
“At half-time, there were only 18 points between us and we had got through them quite comfortably a couple of times,” he said.
“But they are good as an attacking force and we had to be better in our control of the ball.
“If we could have scored first in the second half it might have worked out differently, but we gifted them position twice early on and they scored.
“The players have to learn quickly and I’m sure they will.”
Workington host Halifax on Sunday.
The above content is also available in the regular weekly edition of League Express, on newsstands every Monday in the UK and as a digital download. Click here for more details.
