There is no panic at Hunslet, despite defeats in all three warm-up games insists coach James Coyle.
Hunslet’s pre-season campaign ended last weekend when they lost 19-18 at home to National Conference neighbours Hunslet Club Parkside. Newcastle Thunder visit South Leeds Stadium on February 19 in the National One Cup and Hunslet will be in Challenge Cup action later in the month before beginning their Championship One league season against Gloucestershire All Golds on March 5.
“We are licking our wounds a bit,” Coyle admitted of the loss to Parkside.
“It’s not something we wanted on our record, but you have to give credit where it’s due and they were the better team on the day.
“We did a lot of the things we’ve been working on in training, but understanding how to close a game down and win a game’s something we’ve not really touched on yet.”
Hunslet fielded a new half-back partnership in Joe Sanderson and Joel Gibson and Coyle said they and the team will get better with more game time.
He added: “Technically, little things we’ve been working on in terms of contact and wrestle on the floor had some improvements from the previous two games, but to win games you need a bit more than core skills and good wrestle.
“You need to understand how to control the flow of a match and take gas out of the opposition.”
