MIDLANDS HURRICANES coach Mark Dunning is trying to make the most of a fixture and travel break to prepare his squad, which now includes James Woodburn-Hall, for an attempted home run all the way to the play-offs.
The eighth-placed Canes, who have brought in Jamaica and ex-London Broncos and Halifax back Woodburn-Hall from French side Avignon, welcome Whitehaven to Avery Fields on Saturday for their first outing in Birmingham since the start of March.
In the intervening period, they have played nine away matches, with the eight in the league yielding four victories and a draw alongside three defeats,
Midlands were also awarded a 48-0 1895 Cup first-round walkover win against North Wales because that club failed to fulfil a scheduled April fixture due to their financial difficulties.
The cup failed to provide respite from racking up the miles, since in the quarter-finals, Dunning’s side visited Oldham, winning 40-34.
That set up a home semi-final against London Broncos on Saturday week, June 13, to go with eight remaining regular-season league games at Avery Fields, the ground the club moved to from the Alexander Stadium ahead of this season.
Midlands have eleven Championship matches left, and Dunning has a place in the top-ten play-offs in his sights, even if his team have lost three league games running, the most recent 30-10 when they returned to Oldham seven days after the cup clash.
“It’s been a tough schedule, but I’m pleased with how the lads handled it, and we have had great support from the board and our fans,” he said.
“It’s good to be going back home. Now we must work out what we need to go to get back to winning.”