Warrington Wolves head coach Tony Smith believes that whilst it was disappointing not to get the result against Catalans Dragons last weekend, there is the huge positive of their long and lengthy trip to Perpignan being done for another season.
Smith believes that it is a positive that the trip is out of the way so early in the season – a journey he said can leave you leggy for a “few weeks” afterwards – and says that they can at least not have to worry about the visit to Catalans again for a good while, barring a draw against them in the Challenge Cup.
“With the heat factor it’s a real draining trip. It’s not ideal to travel to Barcelona then get buses across to Perpignan; it can drain you for a few weeks,” he told TotalRL.com.
“The only saving grace from that game is that if we don’t draw them in the cup, then that’s that trip over and done with for another year.”
The Wolves were well below par in the defeat to the Dragons, their first Super League defeat of the season, and Smith says that the response from his players has been good as they gear up for a response against Hull Kingston Rovers this weekend.
“The response has been good; it was a long trip home especially with the manner in which we were defeated,” Smith said.
“We’ve addressed it and fronted up to it, and you often learn some tough and lasting lessons from those kinds of defeats.
“We suffered a huge defeat down there two years ago, drew them in the cup and knocked them out of it a few weeks later. It can set you up for good things, and that’s how we try to deal with it.”
