Sunday's coming!
Well, it's groundhog Sunday. Hornets travel deep into the Heavy Woolen triangle to play a team that's won one from five and comes fresh from an absolute thumping at Whitehaven. And it's a line-up that contains an ex-Hornet: this time in the shape of Joe Berry(left).
Yes, it's the annual 'seven hills' trip to Balti... er... Batley( So called because we usually have to drive up seven hills before we find the one with the ground on top of it!).
Trailing just 10-6 at the interval last week, Batley shipped 21 points after the break, scoring right on the final hooter to scrape into double figures.
But be warned. Games at Batley are often, quite literally, an uphill battle and the Bulldogs did beat Dull KR in the Late Trains Cup a fortnight ago - coming back from an 8-nil deficit: no mean feat given the Robins' ability to suck teams into their mire and bore them to defeat.
Paul Storey has assembled a robust, battling outfit at Mount (un)Pleasant including Joe Nadiole and 'Mad Dog' Craig Booth - so expect an uncompromising approach. And - as last week - there comes a goal-kicking threat from ex-Dewsbury bore-meister Barry Eaton, who'll be keen to kick anything that stands still long enough. So no stupid penalties.
The Batley side also includes ex-Biff Mark Sibson, work-hard utility back Matt Bramald and no-nonsense prop Andy Spink - plenty for Hally to think about.
And he'll be giving a little thought to the Hornets line-up too, with Dave Stephenson doubtful having departed last week's game with a shoulder injury. Otherwise it should be pretty much as we were - and if we can hit the ground running this week, it should be very interesting indeed.
Once again, the Hornets support made a vast contribution to events last week - not only providing what atmosphere there was at Ram Stadium, but also providing the lads with a massive lift.
Indeed, the effort was recognised by Ray Taylor who said "Thanks to the 'Noise Machine' at Dewsbury on Sunday, what a difference you all made to the atmosphere. I know that Martin and the players were well pleased and they certainly responded in the second half."
So you know what you need to do on Sunday. It's another relatively short trip and we can all make a difference when we get behind the lads in numbers. Let's have another great afternoon and let's go into the Salford game next week unbeaten. You can play your part - and you can make a difference.
These are great times to be a Hornets supporter - so let's enjoy the ride. You'd be bonkers to miss this one, so we'll see you all at Batley on Sunday.
|
:
