MIDLANDS HURRICANES vice-captain Jon Luke Kirby trusts that his side will bounce back after suffering back-to-back defeats for the first time this season.
The Hurricanes have themselves firmly in contention for the top four spots in League One, but lost by a point at home to Goole Vikings last time out.
Kirby says their performances in the first half of the season has earned the respect of the competition, who now see the Hurricanes as a different proposition compared to previous years.
He told Canes TV: “The games that we won in the first part of the season were all close, maybe two or four points, and they were really hard-fought wins.
“The difference between the first half and the second half of the season is that we’ve earned people’s respect now, whereas before teams maybe thought they’d be able to beat us.
“Every game is going to be hard fought now, every game people are going to be gunning for us.
“Like Rochdale next up, we beat them earlier in the year, they’re going to come here and be after us and we understand that, the difference now is that we’ve got to respond to that and find a way to complete high and play to our high standards.
“We’ve spoke as a team that the last two weeks have now been up to standard, we’ve not been good enough. But at the same time, it’s two losses that we have the opportunity to bounce back from.
“We trust each other as a team to do that, and I’m sure the fans trust us to do the same.”