Chris Thorman has seen dreams of Super League turn into a fight for mere survival in his time at Newcastle Thunder, but he is ready and willing to put in the work to secure the club’s future once more.
“WE want to make the play-offs, that’s the aim”.
That, or words to that effect, are usually uttered by most coaches in the build-up to any season. Chris Thorman has probably said it himself multiple times as a player and coach. And when he joined his local club Newcastle Thunder in the Championship at the start of 2023, he could even talk about the club’s ultimate aim of a Super League spot.
But come 2024, Thorman and Thunder had a very different aim – simply to get a team out every week and try to compete in a League One competition that is getting more competitive every year.
It was an unusual situation for the 43-year-old to find himself in after a winter of discontent for the North East outfit.
“Having that different mentality was difficult and a bit frustrating at times but it is also exciting,” Thorman admitted to Rugby League World.
“But I can’t be too downhearted because I can see what we’re trying to build here and I can see the potential in it.
“Getting to be part of something from day one is very exciting and that’s how I’ve been selling it to the players.
“I know the club has been in existence since 1999, but we have now got the opportunity to leave a legacy here and be real pioneers of rugby league in the North East.
“It was a bitter pill to swallow initially knowing that when I first came back to the club we were spending money and we had a strong squad, and now being where we are. But I’m looking at it on the flip side and see it as a chance to be part of something special.”
After suffering relegation from the Championship last year, Thunder chiefs shocked many by revealing they had decided not to participate in League One in 2024 stating: “Growing rugby league in the North East was an incredible journey, and we are all devastated that it did not work out. Unfortunately, the impact of COVID-19, combined with the low levels of regional growth and development in the game, means it just isn’t feasible to continue.”
But a change in ownership, led by former managing director and chairman Keith Christie, breathed new hope into the club and, in late December, the RFL granted them re-admittance into the league.
The only problem for them now was to build a squad from scratch and be ready for the opening 1895 Cup game against York Knights just five weeks later.
“A lot went on in the background, more than I have ever realised, and throughout November and December last year we started to turn that negativity into a positive,” added Thorman, who saw his side go down 114-10 in that opening game, before suffering a similar 110-0 defeat against eventual winners Wakefield Trinity a couple of weeks later.
“We were able to assemble a squad of players who as as passionate about the club as we all are and that also have their own aspirations in the game.
“Building a squad from scratch was very different to anything I have had to do before and we’ve had to give some players an opportunity they might have otherwise not been ready for. But we didn’t have a choice, the important thing for us was to make it to the start line.
“It was tough and we did it, but that meant we had only had one training session together before that first game. That was our pre-season.
“I’ve been involved in some great environments over my career and I know that performance foundations are based on what you do in pre-season. We had no pre-season, and with probably the youngest and most inexperienced squad in professional rugby league history, it’s going to take a long time to get ready and be competitive.
“It is tough losing every week, and it does take it toll, but you also have to look at the bigger picture.
“We’re building something that much more sustainable than it has been in the past and that is going to take time, but you also have to remember how far we’ve come.
“We’re still miles off where we want to be, but we’ve come a long way since York put over 100 on us.”
Throughout the first half of the league season, Thorman has regularly called on loan and dual registration players from teams across the game, and while they have made a difference on the field, the coach believes another big change has had an even bigger impact.
Despite their name, Thunder have since moved back to Gateshead and call the town’s International Stadium its home.
While they might still be looking for their debut win of the season, Thorman is confident it will come in time.
“We have had lots of players coming in this year from elsewhere and their attitudes have always been excellent,” Thorman added.
“They can see what we’re trying to do here and they buy into that for however they’re with us for and we have all been really grateful for that.
“Despite everything that has happened we’re probably in a stronger position for it now, especially since we’ve moved back to Gateshead.
“The arrangement we had with Kingston Park just wasn’t sustainable for us anymore. There were escalating costs, we didn’t have access to the gym and we could only get on the pitch once a week so it just didn’t really work for us. We also couldn’t make any money from a match day because of all the costs, but that is something we can now look to do and bring in other forms of revenue.
“But now we’re at Gateshead it is what a rugby league club should look like.
“If I can’t spend loads of money on a squad, what I do need is the facilities to improve what I already have, and I can do that now.
“Generally in sport you need to train well to play well and previously we weren’t able to do that, but players now have consistent gym programmes, strength and conditioning programmes, recovery programmes, as well as having a consistent pitch to train on. When you don’t have all that you can’t improve.
“We are starting to see the benefits of the move in our performances so we’re seeing that as a small victory.
“In sport you get what you deserve and I believe that if we accumulate enough good days then the weeks and months take care of themselves.
“There is no quick fix, we just have to be the best versions of ourselves every day and success will come.”
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 499 (August 2024)
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