Upbeat Bank expect to make it three
UNDERBANK Rangers travel to Milford Marlins tomorrow confident of making it three wins out of three at the start of the 2017 National Conference League First Division season.
Despite their Leeds-based hosts having also won their opening two fixtures, Bank boss Richard Knight has complete faith in his squad that they can win their first three games in a campaign for the very first time.
Head coach Knight is also boosted by the arrival of Toronto Woolpack trialist back-row forward Joey Eichner, who goes straight into the squad for this weekend’s West Yorkshire derby duel.
And with vastly-experienced hooker/loose-forward Andy Boothroyd and prop Dan Farrand ready to return and add extra weight to the pack, Knight admits he’d be bitterly disappointed if his side didn’t maintain their 100% record.
“It’ll be a tough one at Milford, we know that,” said Knight, who has lost in-form forward Craig Williams for a week with a calf strain and has fellow pack man Jon Lee Sanderson unavailable for three weeks.
“Like us, they’ve made a winning start to the season and always enjoy playing on their own artificial 4G surface.
“But we’ve got a decent record against them, and their pitch suits our mobile pack. That mobility is one of our strengths.
“With the strength we now have in our squad, we’ve reached the stage where I don’t fear any of our away trips any more. I now expect us to go anywhere and win.”
Although Underbank secured a 10-6 home win over York Acorn last weekend, Knight was more than happy with the result, particularly as key men Williams, Casey Clark (thumb), Billy Rogers (elbow) and Danny Hirst (ankle) were forced to withdraw mid-game.
Apart from Williams, they’re all fit to play tomorrow, and Knight is looking for his team to build on the performance against the former Premier League club.
“Although the final score was close, we never really looked like losing,” added Knight.
“They only scored their try in the very last minute.
“Because of their Premier League experience, Acorn were good at sticking in the arm wrestle.
“But we also stuck at the task well and deserved the points. We have to make sure we build on that this week.”