Hunslet enter their penultimate home game of the season this weekend against Sheffield Eagles with Jimmy Watson set to make his 250th appearance for the Club.
The Parksiders won 18-22 back in May at the Olympic Legacy Park but haven’t chalked up a win since.
Watson who made his debut on 17th February 2013 against Dewsbury Rams who has been Hunslet’s full-back for over ten years, has been superb in the centres this season tackling anything that moves.
The Club hopes that a deal where season ticket holders and members can bring two friends for free can fill up the stands with fans that haven’t ventured to South Leeds for a while. Also, both clubs will form a guard of honour before the match.
The Parksiders spent Wednesday evening down at Watson’s old haunt Hunslet ARLFC for a training session. The local amateur side are currently 6th in the National Conference Premier Division, aiming for the playoffs and are in good form.
Head Coach Kyle Trout said: “It was a good exercise down at Hunslet ARLFC, there’s good value in doing it to forge local links, and we should do it more often. They are a team in form and got into us well. I wish them the best for the rest of the season.”
Speaking of his own team’s performance last week at Widnes, Trout said: “We dominated in the first half, but let the little things affect us. We went to sleep after half-time, gave away silly penalties and the end of set kicking was poor, but it was night and day in terms of our venom and aggression. I can only guide the lads. They need to motivate themselves, but we showed in parts what we can do.”
Sheffield have had a similar season to Hunslet, sitting a place above the Parksiders on 8 points, so Hunslet see this as a winnable match.
“They are similar to us. If we play for 80 minutes we have a chance.” said Trout.
With Billy Jowitt playing well at full-back and Lee Gaskell fit, Hunslet welcome back Keelan Foster after a match ban and Liam Welham after his charity walk from Edinburgh (who goes up against his brother Kris). But Brad Clavering misses out due to a ban.
One player to impress on debut was Zach McSwiney, who picked up a try and looked lively. Although not up to full match fitness, he may make a difference on Sunday at crucial times.
21-man squad
