Co-operative Championship previews
2nd July 2009Friday July 3
Co-operative Championship
Halifax v Leigh Centurions
Matt Calland faces at least another fortnight without influential half back Ben Black – but the Australian star has targeted Halifax’s fixture against Toulouse on July 18 as his comeback date.
Calland will attempt to plot Leigh’s downfall just five days after ‘Fax fell to a shock defeat at Gateshead.
But he insists there will be more surprise results to follow in the coming weeks.
Calland said: “We can only concentrate on what we do. There are going to be a lot of twists and turns and there’ll be a few more funny results before the end of the season.
“It’s very important we bounce back. We’ve got to turn it around and start building up some form ahead of the play-offs.”
Nicky Stanton is doubtful for Leigh while Dave Alstead is definitely out. Tom Hemingway is likely to appear against the club he was loaned to in May from Huddersfield Giants.
Centurions coach Paul Rowley said: “Although the lads were absolutely heartbroken last week, I think they took a lot of satisfaction out of it.
“We took massive strides forward in our performance and commitment levels. We’re still really buoyant and positive.”
He added: “Halifax have had a couple of losses now, so that shows it can go either way. If we can build pressure there’ll be a bit of doubt there, but they’ll be working hard. It’s our challenge to prevent that backlash from coming.”
Sheffield Eagles v Batley Bulldogs
Sheffield Eagles coach Mark Aston is hopeful that Jack Howieson could return for Friday’s clash against the in-form Bulldogs.
Howieson has missed the last two games with a foot injury but Aston is keeping his fingers crossed over his fitness.
Danny Mills also has a chance of playing, despite suffering a badly cut ear during last week’s game against Doncaster.
Aston said: “We have a quick turnaround with playing Batley at Don Valley on Friday night. We will be buzzing and Batley will be buzzing because they won well at the weekend. It's got the makings of a great game.”
Bulldogs coach Karl Harrison has put his team’s turnaround in fortunes down to their hard work in training.
Harrison said: “Seven weeks ago we went to Barrow and got beat 50-0 and I was quite embarrassed. Since that day we’ve been working extremely hard.
“The guys are putting their bodies on the line and playing extremely well.
”It’s a very tight competition and if you play poorly on the day then you’re going to get beat.”
Paul Mennell is Harrison’s major doubt for Friday after suffering a bicep injury against Barrow. Jermaine McGilvray is expected to recover from an ankle problem in time to face Sheffield.
Saturday July 4
Widnes Vikings v Doncaster
Widnes Vikings coach Paul Cullen has no injury concerns ahead of Saturday’s Co-operative Championship fixture against Doncaster.
But the former Warrington coach has admitted that he may rest some regular players in order to prepare for next week’s Northern Rail Cup Final at Blackpool.
Cullen said: “Whilst the talk around the club may be of Blackpool, I’m solely focussed on Doncaster. They have had their problems on and off the pitch but we must treat them with respect because when we have not done that then teams have turned us over.”
Cullen has not yet settled on his final 17 and admits he could be tempted to give fringe players an opportunity to push for a place in the team that will face Barrow at Bloomfield Road.
Struggling Doncaster could give a debut to another player from the amateur ranks as coach Tony Miller battles to maintain pride.
Miller has swooped to sign Nottingham Outlaws duo Steve Hall, a second row forward, and winger Chris McNamara. McNamara played last week against Sheffield while Hall could feature on Saturday (****check Hall did not play last week****).
However, Shaun Leaf (head injury) is definitely ruled out while Lisiate Tafa is doubtful.
Sunday July 5
Featherstone Rovers v Gateshead Thunder
Ian Hardman is Featherstone’s main fitness concern after suffering an arm injury during their 32-16 win in Toulouse.
Jon Steel (hamstring) is also doubtful as Featherstone coach Daryl Powell attempts to secure a win that would set his side nice for the final play-off chase over the coming weeks.
Powell said: “This is now an important game for us. If we win this game leading to a couple of weeks out of league action, we'll be in a pretty strong position.”
Gateshead coach Steve McCormack is likely to name an unchanged side from the team that beat Halifax on Sunday.
Thunder are just three points away from climbing out of the Co-operative Championship’s relegation zone.
McCormack said: “At this stage of the season points are a bit more important than the performance. Against Halifax our first half was excellent but we showed resilience in the second half.
“It’s all about getting some momentum. Nobody really remembers what happened in the early part of the season. It’s all about the back end but we know this competition is so tight that if you don’t play well then you’ll get beat.”
He added: “Featherstone were superb in Toulouse. They’re a dangerous side and Daryl Powell has done a great job there. I think it will be a good game. It’s two teams coming off good performances and it should be a belter for the fans.”
Co-operative Championship One
Blackpool Panthers v York City Knights
Blackpool coach Martin Crompton insists it’s business as usual for his side – despite them facing a York outfit that has been hit by a string of club suspensions.
Crompton said: “We’ve just got to get our own house in order. It’s about looking after ourselves and approaching a normal York game – a physical encounter with them playing good off-the-cuff football.”
He added: “Our performance last week gives everybody confidence because it was very good. The four new players all fitted in well and contributed, especially Dean Thompson in the centres.”
Dave Llewellyn (ribs) is likely to be Crompton’s only absentee from the team that beat Workington 46-18.
York’s preparations have been thrown into disarry after it was confirmed that they will travel without four first team players and will also be missing head coach Paul March.
The Knights have suspended three players, including the March brothers, from this week’s game while Danny Ratcliffe has been suspended until the end of July.
A Knights statement said: “Following a breach of club discipline at a function last week James Ratcliffe, Paul March, David March and Rob Kelly have been stood down from first team duties for this weekends match against Blackpool. Danny Ratcliffe has been suspended from first team duties until the end of this month. The club wishes to make no further comment on this incident.”
Dewsbury Rams v Swinton Lions
Table-topping Dewsbury continue to enjoy a fully-fit squad as they attempt to maintain their 100 per cent league record against the Lions.
But boss Warren Jowitt warned: “Swinton had a good win against Hunslet last week and they’ve been riding high recently. We’ll need to play a good game to get the points.”
He added: “We didn’t play to our game plan last time we met and it’s vital we do that this week.
“Our strength is our forwards and that’s what we have to do – put them on the back foot. Defensively we’ll also have to be bang on because Swinton have got a lot of threats that you’ve got to be aware of.”
Swinton coach Paul Kidd saw his improving Lions side defeat the Hawks 42-16.
Andy Saywell (back) and Paul Southern (ankle) are both believed to be nearing a return to first team action.
Keighley Cougars v London Skolars
Craig Brown (broken thumb) and Gavin Duffy (sprained ankle) are likely to be missing from Barry Eaton’s Keighley side that hosts London in Sunday’s Co-operative Championship One clash.
But Australian prop Brendon Rawlins is set to make his first appearance of the season after finally arriving in the UK on Wednesday.
Eaton said: “Last week we were a bit scratchy. At this stage of the season we’re looking for excellence, or as close to that as we can get. We felt as if we should have had more points. We forced passes rather than taking stock and having a bit more composure about ourselves.”
On the Skolars, Eaton added: “They’re a bit of an unknown quantity. We don’t know how many players from Quins could turn up in their ranks this week. However, we’re unbeaten at home and we want to maintain that.”
Skolars’ temporary coach Jermaine Coleman will be hoping for an improvement on last week’s display when his side lost 64-0 against high-flying Dewsbury.
Rochdale Hornets v Hunslet Hawks
Rochdale are without Steven Roper (broken ankle) for the rest of the season while Mick Fogerty (ankle ligaments) also fell victim to a serious injury at Keighley last week.
Brett Robinson (ribs) is only rated as a 50/50 chance of playing on Sunday, according to Hornets assistant coach Paul Anderson.
Anderson said: “We played Hunslet a few weeks ago and they gave us a bit of a touch up.
“With Graeme Hallas leaving the club there’s always that knowledge that players will be trying to impress the new man in charge. Any professional player will want to do that and they’ll all try to put their hands up. We’ll have to prepare right and make sure we’re ready for Sunday.”
Hallas announced his resignation from the Hawks on Wednesday night.
Hallas said: “In offering my resignation I accept full responsibility for the underachievement of the team and its players.
“I wish the club well and I continue to hope that the club regains its status within the game.”
Hawks’ chief executive Alan Stephenson said: "Graeme has acted with great professionalism and dignity. He took over the club in the most difficult of circumstances.
“The Hawks will now look for a new coach for the rest of the season. Second team coach Gary Lord takes over the reins with immediate effect until a decision is made.”
Lord’s first task will be to assess Nico Slain (knee) and Nathan Larvin (knee) while Aiden Faal (groin) is almost certainly ruled out.
Workington Town v Oldham
Town boss Dave Rotheram faces another reshuffle after three players were ruled out of his potential squad to face Oldham.
Jamie Marshall will miss Sunday’s Co-operative Championship One fixture due to a facial injury while Whitehaven have recalled loan pair Marc Shackley and Marc Bainbridge.
Rotheram said: “I was disappointed last week. I thought we’d turned a bit of a corner against Swinton with a massive improvement in our performance, but it got away from us a little bit at the weekend.
“We’ve got to control the ball and not give up soft field positions. If we do that against Oldham then we will find ourselves having big problems to deal with.”
He added: “Oldham were good at York last week. I’m sure they’ll be wanting to avenge that defeat pretty quickly.”
Tony Benson will give Paul Reilly (broken nose) a late fitness test to prove his ability to play while Dave Allen is expected to have recovered from a calf injury.
Benson said: “Things can jump up and hit you by the throat when you least expect it. There’s no way we’ll be taking Workington lightly and we’ll have to be ready to play come Sunday afternoon.
“We can always improve and we look at that every week in training.”