NEWCASTLE THUNDER coach Chris Thorman says Saturday’s league opener at Hunslet will bring to an end the hardest pre-season he has ever experienced.
After a turbulent few months, in which the club nearly disappeared, Thorman knows that even getting to this point is a success in itself, and thinks that fact should be celebrated.
“Typically pre-season is about working hard on the pitch, on the training field and in the gym,” he said.
“But the hard work this year has more been done on administration, getting people on board who are going to back us and forming a steering group of people who love the sport and want to see it thrive in the North East.”
Thorman, whose team faced tough clashes against York and Wakefield in the 1895 Cup and Sheffield in the Challenge Cup, added: “Off the back of that, we’ve then had to assemble a squad and that has been really difficult – probably the most challenging part of my coaching career to date.
“We were taught some tough lessons in the cups against some really good sides, but actually right now, for Rugby League in the North East, there is a bigger picture than that and that is the fact that we have got to the start line and we’re going to be ready to play Hunslet.
“I could talk for ages about how we have got here, but we have got to the start line and that’s the most important thing.
“It’s about keeping Rugby League alive in this area. We have invested a lot in the sport in the North East for the last 30-odd years and for that to go to waste would be a crying shame.”
