FEATHERSTONE ROVERS coach Paul Cooke has told his players to make a first league win under his command, 24-22 at home to his former club York, the starting point for a surge up the standings.
The two-point haul came at the fifth attempt after the 44-year-old stepped up from assistant, a role he also held at York last season, to replace James Ford, who departed after Rovers lost 14-12 at London Broncos in February.
While Cooke has masterminded 1895 Cup victories over Keighley and London Broncos, setting up an eagerly-awaited semi-final visit to Oldham on Sunday, May 18, it was only a second league victory of the season, after a 22-4 opening-round home success against Doncaster under Ford.
And it provided a lift ahead of Saturday’s follow-up Millennium Stadium meeting with Toulouse, although Featherstone lost 18-10.
Former Super League star Cooke, who finished his career with Rovers in 2015 after a spell as player-coach of Doncaster, says the hard-fought triumph over York – when playing down the Millennium slope, his charges fought back from 16-0 down at half-time – came as a huge relief, even if the performance was somewhat patchy.
“For the majority of the first half, we were second-best in every area, but the response to what was said at half-time was exactly what we wanted,” he explained.
“I thought that if we could come out with some real intent, we could get over the top of them playing downhill, and we did that.
“Overall, I think we got what we deserved, because we’d come close in the previous match at Oldham (a 30-28 defeat), and this time it was us who edged a tight game.
“It’s clear that we have to reproduce that intent for longer spells in matches, and that there are plenty of things we still need to improve, but after a really tough spell, it was a boost and a relief to get that win.”
