WHITEHAVEN coach James Newton hopes some downtime will help his side carry on moving up the table.
The Cumbrians were 17th when he stepped up from assistant to succeed Anthony Murray in March.
Fifteen matches later, Haven headed into a bye round over the weekend just gone in ninth and finished it in tenth, the final play-off place, one point ahead of Dewsbury.
Former club hooker and captain Newton, 34, moved into coaching last year after accepting his playing days were over as a result of the serious neck injury he sustained in September 2024.
While the top job has come quicker than expected, he is enjoying the challenge – and believes his players are enjoying the environment he and right-hand man Neil ‘Gus’ Frazer have created.
Those 15 games have yielded 15 points, with the last three, at home to Swinton and Goole, then at Hunslet, all won.
Haven held an 18-0 lead in Leeds before holding off a home fightback to win 18-16, the hosts unable to land a penalty-goal after the final hooter.
Hunslet were held up over the line several times before, and Newton reflected: “We made it hard for ourselves, and maybe we were guilty of starting to try to see the game out too soon.
“In that phase, our last-tackle options weren’t where they needed to be, so that’s something we have to work on.
“Credit Hunslet, they kept going and had a real go, but I thought our defensive resilience meant we deserved to win the game.
“That’s down to mindset, attitude and supporting each other, and I think there’s a good connection in the squad, with confidence growing.
“Hopefully with the benefit of a bit of a recharge, we can keep going.”
Haven head to Rochdale on Sunday.