RFL Championship Preview : Thu Aug 11, 2011 11:04 am
Saturday August 13Co-operative Championship
Barrow Raiders v Sheffield Eagles (6.30pm)
Barrow coach Dave Clark has urged his side to give their all to make sure Gary Broadbent's last home game is a success.
The former Salford full-back retires at the end of the season, and Clark said: “He's such a consistent professional. The way he conducts himself on and off the field, he's been a role model to young players at Barrow and in the Barrow area.
“It will be a big loss to see him go at the end of the year, but hopefully we can put a decent performance together and he can bow out on a high.”
Matt James is suspended, but Martin Ostler could come back into contention after training earlier this week without reporting any problems.
Clark added: “Knowing Sheffield over the years, they're quite a dominant, physical side and that's something we'll have to be aware of – but we've got the personnel here who can match any pack.”
Eagles coach Mark Aston will be without Alex Rowe (broken arm), with either Sam Scott or Eddie Battye expected to feature instead.
Batley Bulldogs v Toulouse Olympique (6.00pm)
Bulldogs coach Karl Harrison could see his side climb back into the Co-operative Championship's top three.
If Widnes fail to win at Halifax, then victory over struggling Toulouse will see Batley move up one place in the league table.
Adam Robinson (knee) is Batley's main concern, but the Bulldogs will not be short of confidence after last week's 18-16 win over Halifax.
Tim Wynn is ruled out for Toulouse after tearing his quad in a recent game against Halifax.
The Australian is the latest player to be cursed by Olympique's extraordinary injury luck in 2011.
However, full-back Rory Bromley made his return to action in last week's 16-8 victory over Dewsbury, and provided he suffered no further reaction this week he will be certain to bolster Gilles Dumas's options for the trip to Yorkshire.
Sunday August 14
Co-operative Championship
Dewsbury Rams v Hunslet Hawks (3.00pm)
Dewsbury coach Warren Jowitt has likened Sunday's Co-operative Championship relegation battle with Hunslet to a Grand Final.
Jowitt said: “It's a big game. It's massive for both teams, and arguably it's like a final for us.
“We've got a fully fit squad to pick from, and that gives us a bit of a selection headache, but that's a good position to be in.”
Rams lost 16-8 against Toulouse last week, and Jowitt has highlighted where he expects improvements. He said: “Our forwards went really well. They paved the way and dominated the game, but our half backs had a bad day at the office.”
Stuart Kain, Steve Dooler and Neil Lowe are all in contention for Hunslet, although David March is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Hawks coach Paul March said: “We've got a bit of competition in the squad, but I want to find a consistent team to keep performing well and pick up some points. I might not change anything, it depends how we go in training.”
He added: “Myself and the team know this is a massive game – it could be the difference between staying up and going down.
“With relegation battles comes pressure. Last year we had a different kind of pressure, but we can't go away from what we've been trying to do all year.”
Leigh Centurions v York City Knights (3.00pm)
Adam Higson and Sam Hopkins could feature for Leigh as the Centurions look to rotate their squad for Sunday's Co-operative Championship fixture with York.
Leigh assistant coach Paul Rowley said: “We're all fighting fit, and we've got a healthy squad, but we may change a couple of things around this week.
“Against Widnes last week we were a bit loose in the first half with the ball in hand, but we defended very well. It's coming to the end of the season and our defence is going OK, which is a good sign.”
He added: “In all of our remaining league fixtures we'll be firm favourites to win with the bookies, but that makes it a little bit dangerous as well. We're putting pressure on ourselves to concentrate on our performances.”
York could be unchanged as they look to secure a win that would keep them out of the relegation places for another week at least.
Knights lost 44-16 against Featherstone last week, but coach Dave Woods saw enough to be pleased. He said: “Our effort and commitment was really good, and we'll probably run with the same squad.
“We asked for a big improvement on the Halifax game, and we got a good response. We'll just ask for the same again - to start how we did last week, but to not have that little lull in the middle. We want to perform for longer.”
Co-operative Championship One
Doncaster v Whitehaven (3.00pm)
Coach Tony Miller will assess Dean Colton later in the week before making any decision whether to include the Dons winger following a recent groin problem.
Kyle Kesik and Craig Robinson are expected to return, but Jamie Bovill (groin) is believed to be struggling.
Whitehaven's Lewis Palfrey has an outside chance of playing on Sunday after making positive progress from a recent elbow injury.
'Haven coach David Seeds said: “We're looking OK. Lewis is due to train with us on Thursday night, and he says he's OK.
“The only concern is Martin Wilson – he's struggling with a heel injury – but other than that we're trying to fit 23 or 24 guys into 17 shirts.”
On Doncaster, he added: “They're going really well, particularly when they're at home.
“They're a big, physical and enthusiastic side. There willl probably be a reaction from their Keighley game, and we're expecting maybe the toughest game of the season so far.”
Gateshead Thunder v London Skolars (2.00pm)
Gateshead first team coach Kevin Neighbour expects to be able to field a similar team to the one that faced Rochdale last week.
Neighbour said: “There are a couple of knocks, but it's nothing that can't be worked out. We should probably have a full strength squad.”
He added: “We were a bit slow in the first 10 minutes of each half against Rochdale, which was a bit of a surprise. We've normally started quite well, so to see that was disappointing, but our finishes – especially in the second half – were strong.
“London have kept a core group of players, and then built and developed around that.
“They've got a fairly decent pack who'll try to wear us out, but we've shown against Whitehaven and in spells against Rochdale that we are capable of matching that.”
Skolars coach Joe Mbu has called for an improved attitude in defence as his team look to finish the season with pride.
The trip to the north east is their last away game of the year, and following last week's 26-16 defeat against South Wales, Mbu is confident of a better showing on Sunday.
He said: “We fell off tackles too often, but we need to keep our heads up and go hard again for the last two games.”
Rochdale Hornets v Oldham (3.00pm)
Hornets' coach John Stankevitch expects Wayne English to feature on Sunday, despite the Hornets' full back being stretchered off at Gateshead last week.
Stankevitch said: “It was a worry at the time because he was down for a good 10 minutes. His neck and upper back were a bit stiff, but he was feeling a lot better on Tuesday and he'll probably pull through fine.”
Steve McDermott, Richard Mervill and Dayne Donoghue are also in line for a place in Rochdale's match squad.
Stankevitch added: “At this stage of the season, sometimes the nervousness in the players means you come up with errors.
“It's the little things at this stage that will get you your results. We've been concentrating on the real basics - catching, passing, and pushing up in support.”
Luke Sutton makes his final Oldham appearance before emigrating to Australia, while Luke Stenchion (back), Mark Brocklehurst (foot) and Danny Whitmore (back) are all being monitored.
Oldham coach Tony Benson said: “We always enjoy playing Rochdale.
“You get a good, vocal crowd going and we're looking forward to it. They're obviously the form team at the moment, so it's an exciting match.”
Swinton Lions v South Wales Scorpions (3.00pm)
Lions coach Steve McCormack is desperate to get back to winning ways after his side's shock defeat against Keighley last week.
McCormack's men went down 20-18 against the Cougars, blowing their first chance to wrap up automatic promotion.
They now need four points from their remaining three games in order to secure top spot, and McCormack is demanding a better display this week.
He said: “No disrespect to Keighley, but we did not play well enough to win against them.
“South Wales have a lot of young talent and some old heads in their squad and we will need to be at our best to beat them.”
Richard Flooks (stomach) and Danny Meekin (sternum) are both ruled out, but Tommy Gallagher and Neil Rigby could return.
Scorpions look set to travel without Lewis Mills, who is expected to miss the rest of the season through injury.
Workington Town v Keighley Cougars (3.00pm)
Jason Mossop could be set for a shock return to the Town line-up for Sunday's Co-operative Championship One fixture with Keighley.
Joint Workington coach Gary Charlton said: “Jason will be available this week. He's been training for the last few sessions, and it comes at a good time because we've lost John Patrick this week through work commitments.”
However, Marc Jackson, Matt Tunstall and Marc Shackley continue to be unavailable, with Charlton admitting: “We probably won't see them again this season.”
On Keighley, he added: “You've got to win your home games, and that's obviously our aim this week.
“Keighley are coming off a good win against Swinton, and we all watched them on the TV. They played well, they've got a couple of good hookers, and Jason Demetriou leads them around the pitch very well.”
Cougars are expected to travel without Ryan Benjafield (foot), but are otherwise at full strength.
Coach Demetriou said: “Last week's win at Swinton just affirmed what we've thought about ourselves all season.
“We know that when we play well we can beat anyone in this division. It shows that we're one of the better teams, but we've still got to play well every week to back it up.”
He added: “There's still heaps to play for. We want a top two finish and we want home play-off games. A win this weekend will put us very close to securing second spot. We've got to go after that.”
