NORTH WALES CRUSADERS coach Carl Forster has backed his players to respond to being dumped from the 1895 Cup by Goole.
His side went down 26-18 in preliminary round two, and having opened their league campaign at Dewsbury, have two blank weekends due to their elimination then a league bye round.
Their next match is back at Goole on Sunday, March 23, and Forster plans to use the time profitably.
“The players will essentially go back into pre-season mode,” he said.
“That’s the position they have put themselves in playing like they did against Goole.
“We could have had a home game against Championship opponents (Barrow) in the 1895 Cup but we didn’t earn that.
“We need to quickly move on and we will see where we are when we come back here in March. We need to get our preparations right.”