CORNWALL coach Mike Abbott is hopeful of having a fully-fit and rested squad ahead of their next game on Sunday week.
Out of both the Challenge Cup and 1895 Cup, the Choughs don’t play again until their February 23 trip to Workington.
And for Abbott, that rest allows him the perfect opportunity to fully prepare for the game, and maybe even add a few new faces to the squad.
“We had a couple of guys who missed the cup games through injury, but this extended break gives us chance to get them back in time for the start of the league,” said Abbott.
“(Backrow) Kaine Dimech was a really strong player for us all of last year and trained really well in pre-season.
“But in the warm-up to the North Wales game in the Challenge Cup he pulled up with a calf injury, which was a little bit more serious than we originally thought.
“We also lost Nathan Conroy for the Rochdale game (in the 1895 Cup) with a really bad eye infection.
“In the North Wales game, he had to play in the halves. He’s one of the best hookers at this level, so if he’s not playing there it does take a lot out of your team.
“Our new signing Elijah Simpson (an Australian prop) came in for his first competitive game against Rochdale, but he probably played a bit longer than he should have done, so we didn’t really see the best of him.
“Because we have been missing some players, others have had to move around and play out of position. But we can now spend a bit of time getting everyone ready to go.
“We also used the cup games to look at some of the players we identified at the open trials we held.
“For a lot of them it was their first time playing at this level and it was a big step up from where they had been. But I though they coped really well.
“There were a couple more we wanted to look at but weren’t able to play because of injury, but they went to West Warriors (on dual registration) ahead of the Challenge Cup tie at Leeds.
“They needed to get some game time and we wanted to get a bit of feedback on them.
“We’ve already signed a couple of players from the trials who are yet to be announced, and the plan is to get a couple more done in time for Workington.”
