Hornets hope to be competitive
ROCHDALE Hornets head coach Alan Kilshaw hopes his side can try and hold their own when they welcome Leigh Centurions to the Crown Oil Arena this weekend.
Hornets head into the match on the back of a vital 28-26 win over Swinton Lions last Sunday.
That match came after Kilshaw’s side had conceded 80 points, 70 points and then 68 points in matches against Featherstone Rovers, Toulouse Olympique and London Broncos in the weeks preceding that game.
With that in mind, Kilshaw wants his players to make it a competitive game against Leigh, and doesn’t want to see his side suffer another heavy beating.
“They’re a quality side who are going for the top four, but we want to be competitive next week. We don’t want another game where a team scores 80 or 70,” he said.
“We have three games now that on paper look really challenging, but what we’ll use these games for is pre-Shield games that gets us right for the Shield.
“If we can snag a win in one of those three games then we’ll go out to win, but otherwise we’ll be preparing for the Shield.
“I have to give credit to our players for their efforts last week against Swinton, as there was a bit of bite in the game but it was played really well.
“The ruck was slow at times and didn’t suit either side but to play in those conditions our boys deserve praise.
Hornets have announced that the game against Leigh has been brought forward in order to avoid clashing with the World Cup final. The game with Leigh was originally due to take place on Sunday, but will now be played today at 5pm.
In a statement, Hornets CEO Steve Kerr said: “I’m pleased we are able to agree a compromise to accommodate all our fans who wish to watch their rugby league team and the World Cup final. There’s now a lot of work to do to be ready for the biggest game in our calendar but making the change early allows fans to put plans in place.
“It is going to be a cracking weekend of sport! We apologise for any inconvenience caused but I thank supporters for their patience and hope they come out and support the lads on Saturday.”
Meanwhile, Hornets have also revealed that emergency service workers can gain entry to Saturday’s home game against Leigh for free.
Hornets announced the plans in order to reward emergency services crews, who remain on the scene of two unprecedented moorland fires, over two weeks after they initially broke out.
Fire service, police, ambulance and NHS workers can watch the game free of charge by simply showing their official identification on the turnstile.
Kerr added: “The emergency services do wonderful work 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year but with the hot, dry weather over the last three weeks they have been flat out.
“Our fire service have been up on the moors for the best part of three weeks and our local A&E departments have had their busiest periods in recent history.
“For us, this is the right thing to do. They can come and watch the match and unwind a bit, it is the least we can do.”
‘We don’t want another game where a team scores 80’