Head Coach Kyle Trout has prepared his battle-worn troops for the daunting task of the visit of the high-flying York Knights this Sunday. (Aug 10th 3pm).
The Knights sit at the top of the table, having won 15 of 19 games and look set to win the Championship, but for Hunslet it’s their own form they need to address. “York are the best team in the comp.” says Trout. “We have looked at them and have identified areas we can get at. No one is invincible. But it’s us we need to concentrate on, I’d say 90% of the time. We’ve approached the week’s training full of confidence after last week, and we have progressed well. It’s important we play our style and don’t be orthodox. Challenge the opposition and create havoc.”
Hunslet gave Doncaster a 22-point start in last week’s game, before playing some exciting rugby and coming right back into the game. “We need to start better. Understand momentum swings and patches in the game where it’s not going our way and be resilient. We got back into the game, but I felt parked the bus a bit in the last 10 minutes.”
This may have been down to the HIA of half-back Sam Ackroyd (who automatically misses this weekend) and the decision to not let Hunslet use their 18th man.
Back at the South Leeds Stadium, it’s been a tough year for Hunslet fans as the form games have come on the road, but Trout and his assistant Michael Knowles are looking to change that. “We’ve changed how training looks at the Stadium. A bit more urgency and looking at being mentally turned on for games. The pitch is narrow and favours big sides, so we need to be quick and elusive and not so predictable. This is a good challenge for us on Sunday to see if the things we have implemented have been taken onboard.”
Keelan Foster and Coby Nichol come into contention after their bans, whilst Mackenzie Turner and Will Kirby have been added to the injured list along with Ethan O’Hanlon and Sam Ackroyd.
Lee Gaskell and Kobe Rugless are doubts, but form players Billy Jowitt and Lloyd McEwan-Peters look set to be in the squad, and Ethan Wood comes into contention.
Hunslet also welcome 19-year-old hooker Will Hutchinson from Hull FC, who comes with a reputation for being “sharp and lively around the ruck. A nightmare for tiring opposition middles.
One player Trout thinks is performing well is Harvey Hallas. “Harvey has come into his own, he carries the team forward and gets defences on the back foot. He’s a crucial player for us.”
21-man squad
