Hunslet Coach Dean Muir has readied his team for the trip north to Newcastle knowing the next run of three games comes at an important place in the season.
Hunslet lay 4th in the table with 7 League fixtures to go and the Parksiders want to secure a top 4 spot for the upcoming play offs, but Muir knows he must take each opponent as they come.
“The next 3 games are important, but we cannot look beyond Newcastle for now. We did not play well against them on the opening day of the season, but we are a better side now than in round one”.
Signings Jordan Paga and Keenen Tomlinson come into contention, as does winger Jack Render who was missing last time out for the trip to Oldham. Matty Beharrell, Jimmy Watson and Ethan O’Hanlon are all sore after the Oldham match but are all there for consideration.
“We have no Dual Reg players this week and Matty Fletcher is missing with a ban, so there may be a couple of changes. Players can stake a claim for the shirt. The lads have worked hard in training even though we had no game last week. It’s frustrating to be stop/start with weeks off, but this is an opportunity for fringe players. Squad rotation comes into it, and some lads may step up,” said Muir.
Reflecting on last time out’s defeat to Oldham Muir said “We created our own downfall, short cuts cost us. Obviously, injuries to Beharrell and Watson made life tough, but when we built pressure, we tried risky plays at the wrong times”.
Overall though anyone can see this Hunslet team has a bright future, most teams going 10-0 quickly away at the League leaders would have crumbled, but this Hunslet team stuck at it to get back in the game.
“This is a young group of players who will learn by their mistakes. It can be frustrating for the fans, but they are a resilient bunch who bounce back. We must get better under pressure of the match situation, rather than the opposition”.
The game kicks off at 2pm at the Gateshead Stadium
