Rugby League National Leagues

Northern Rail Cup previews

Northern Rail Cup previews - All matches to be played on Sunday February 21 apart from Oldham v Sheffield Eagles which is to be played on Monday February 22.

BARROW RAIDERS v KEIGHLEY COUGARS
Steve McCormack will assess his Barrow squad on Thursday night following Wednesday’s victory at Doncaster.
But the Raiders coach knows his team are set for a fierce battle against Keighley, regardless of who he has available for selection.
McCormack said: “Any team that has won their last nine games, like Keighley have, suggests they are an outstanding team with a winning habit.
“There are not many teams out there that have won that many games on the trot. It will be very tough and it’s the kind of challenge we’re looking forward to.”
Danny Jones (arm) is a major doubt for the Cougars while Daley Williams (back) is rated “extremely doubtful” by Keighley coach Barry Eaton.
“It’s certainly a different proposition for us than last week,” said Eaton, whose side beat Workington 38-10 in their latest Northern Rail Cup fixture.
Eaton added: “We’ve had a taste of Championship opposition when we played Whitehaven but we’ve not travelled away to it yet.
“We’ve won three out of three so far and barring a mathematical miracle I think we’ve just about qualified for the next stages. It should be a good game.”
 
DEWSBURY RAMS v LEIGH CENTURIONS
Rams coach Warren Jowitt will be without Rob Spicer (broken arm) for up to six weeks.
Spicer suffered the injury during Dewsbury’s 48-12 victory over Rochdale, a result that pleased Jowitt.
Jowitt said: “We were much better last week, especially in offence.
“We had a blip against Halifax but we put things right.
“We played very patiently and when we got our chances, we made sure we took them.”
Leigh prop Danny Meekin (knee) will face a late fitness test after suffering an injury in training on Tuesday.
Centurions assistant coach Paul Rowley said: “We were very good against Featherstone, it was like chalk and cheese compared to the week before. We forced a lot of errors and made a good team look very ordinary.
“We’ve trained well again this week and all the signs are positive. We’re looking forward to the challenge of backing up last week.”
He added: “It’s never easy at the best of times to go to Dewsbury, but at the moment our focus is on ourselves.
“If we can emulate and improve on last week’s performance then we should give ourselves a good shout.”
 
DONCASTER v BLACKPOOL PANTHERS
Doncaster coach Tony Miller is battling against a mounting injury list as his side search for their first win of the year.
New signing Gary King could make his debut while Craig Lawton and Gary Ellery are also expected to be close to being passed fit.
However, Danny Stanley has been ruled out for up to seven weeks after suffering a broken hand during Doncaster’s clash with Whitehaven.
The Dons host Blackpool on Sunday, with the visitors set to be boosted by the return of Casey Mayberry.
Panthers coach Martin Crompton also confirmed that Johnny Leather suffered no adverse reaction to his 70-minute stint against Gateshead last week.
Crompton said: “We played some great rugby and scored some fantastic tries.
“It was just one of those days where everything went well and all the passes stuck. It was down to the enthusiasm and commitment of the lads. They were very professional.”
He continued: “We’re expecting another tough challenge against Doncaster. We’re in a confident mood at the moment after rattling up so many points against Gateshead but what was so pleasing was that we’d put a lot of effort in recently and not felt like we’d got any rewards. Last week we got a massive reward.”
 
FEATHERSTONE ROVERS v ROCHDALE HORNETS
Jessie Joe Parker and Larsen Marabe could break into Daryl Powell’s first team this week after impressing in the reserves.
Powell’s side lost 36-6 at Leigh last week, a result the former Leeds coach described as “really disappointing”.
He added: “Leigh were very good and we had to be good as well, but we were poor from the first minute. We gave too many penalties away and put ourselves under pressure.
“We’ve got to fix it up, whether it’s through personnel or changing a couple of things that we’re doing.
“We’ve got to have a good look at ourselves and come back stronger. We’ve got get it right (against Rochdale).”
Andy Saywell (groin), Bolu Fagborun (ankle), Dale Bloomfield (calf) and Adam Bowman (head) are among Rochdale’s mounting number of injured players.
Hornets coach John Stankevitch said: “If history proves correct, then going to Featherstone is going to be a tough day.
“Iain Morrison is one of the outstanding players in the Co-operative Championship and if their team plays anything like the attitude he’s got then we’re in for a tough day.
“We need to make sure that we’re making small improvements week after week.
“These Northern Rail Cup games will be massively beneficial for us, even if we lose all four. It will give us a tougher mental approach.”
 
GATESHEAD THUNDER v BATLEY BULLDOGS
Liam Duffy has a 50/50 chance of making a shock return for Gateshead as Thunder coach Chris Hood insists his team are heading in the right direction.
Thunder lost 74-6 against Blackpool last week. Hood said: “We just need to keep concentrating on ourselves. That’s what this whole season is about.
“Thunder’s problem over the last 10 years has been trying to make an instant impact without having solid foundations. We’re going to take a longer approach and longer view to make sure we’ve got players that are up to the standard and are Gateshead Thunder through and through.”
Crawford Matthews (dislocated shoulder) and Rob Harvey (hamstring) are also missing for the hosts.
Tommy Gallagher (back) is Batley’s only new injury concern, with coach Karl Harrison otherwise pleased with the progress of his squad.
He said: “We’ve got eight points with just one game to play, so we should be through (to the quarter finals).”
 
HALIFAX v HUNSLET HAWKS
Halifax coach Matt Calland will be eager to bounce back from his side’s first competitive defeat of the year.
‘Fax went down 13-6 in Wednesday night’s Northern Rail Cup game with Sheffield Eagles.
But Calland reported no major new injury concerns after the match, while Makali Aizue is hoping to return to action soon.
Hunslet are missing Luke Haigh and Richard Knight but coach Paul March has an otherwise fully fit squad.
March said: “We’ve got to be disciplined when we’ve got the ball and when we’re in defence. That side of the game let us down massively last week. Players got frustrated and that got to us. We’ve got to learn from it.”
He added: “I’m glad it’s come about that we’re playing Halifax. You want to be playing against the best payers and Halifax are certainly the team at the moment.
“They’ve made some big signings and they already had some big names there. It’s going to be a test for us.”
 
OLDHAM v SHEFFIELD EAGLES
Oldham coach Tony Benson has doubts over Neil Roden, Dave Ellison, Lucas Onyango and Wayne Kerr ahead of Sunday’s Northern Rail Cup fixture with Sheffield.
Benson is keeping his fingers crossed that they will be passed fit but they will be monitored during the week before any firm decision is made.
Oldham lost 28-14 at Hunslet last week. Benson said: “To play so badly and still be in touch for 70 minutes of the game shows that there is something there and that it isn’t all doom and gloom.”
Former Salford, Hull and Warrington winger Richie Barnett could make his Sheffield debut on Monday (8pm kick off).
The 28-year-old winger joined the Eagles last week after completing a two-year drugs ban but coach Mark Aston could be ready to throw him into the action at Oldham.
Sheffield travel to Lancashire fresh from their midweek triumph over Cup favourites Halifax. Victory against the Roughyeds would guarantee Mark Aston’s side a place in the quarter finals.
 
SWINTON LIONS v WIDNES VIKINGS
Phil Jospeh misses out for the Lions after being given a two-match suspension in midweek.
Swinton coach Paul Smith, whose side beat Workington 19-18 on Wednesday night, said: “Widnes are very similar to Batley, who we faced last week.
“I said before the Batley game that they would provide us with a real test and Widnes will be no different.
“We’ve also got quite a few ex-Widnes players in our squad which I’m sure will give the game an extra level of interest.”
Vikings’ assistant coach Stuart Wilkinson is hopeful of up to four players returning to his squad after missing last week’s game against Barrow due to a virus.
Wilkinson said: “We’re hoping they’ll be OK for the weekend and we’re looking forward to being bolstered by a few returning faces.”
He added: “Playing wise there are still loads of things that we need to do better.
“We still feel we’re under-performing but we’re endeavouring to improve that. We’re just constantly trying to improve each week.”
 
WORKINGTON TOWN v WHITEHAVEN
Workington pair Lee Dutton (groin) and Neil Fraser (shingles) are not expected to feature in Sunday’s Northern Rail Cup clash with Cumbrian rivals Whitehaven.
Town coach Gary Charlton said: “All supporters want their team to win, but especially so when it’s a derby match.
“We’ve said within our camp though that it’s just another game.
“We want our team to be competitive and the challenge against Whitehaven is now a big one, but one that we’ve got to rise to.”
Howard Hill (broken hand) will be missing for Whitehaven, although coach Ged Stokes is optimistic that Hill can make a swift return.
Stokes said: “It’s the second time we’ve played them this year and it brings some extra excitement. They’ll want to come and get a performance this week. We’re not at full strength by any means, which also gives it added interest.”
He added: “I’d like to think that we’ll progress to the quarter finals if we win but if we don’t progress then I’m not totally displeased with how we’ve gone. There’s only been the Keighley game that I haven’t liked.”
 
YORK CITY KNIGHTS v LONDON SKOLARS
York winger Steve Lewis faces a race against time after suffering a hamstring injury during Wednesday’s win at Rochdale.
Knights assistant coach Chris Thorman said: “Steve will be seeing the physio on Thursday and we’ll keep our fingers crossed because he’s looked good in training.
“However, if he can’t play then Danny Wilson can come back in and he’ll be eager to impress.”
Thorman added: “Our performance was OK against Rochdale but there are still things to work on.
“I would have thought a win against London will give us a decent shout (of qualification) but I’m not one for studying the table. I’m more concerned about the performances, getting some combinations going and fine-tuning a few things.”
London coach James Massara could give a chance to trailist Rob Montgomery, a former Scotland Students back row, and Academy centre Aaron Small.
Massara said: “Our focus is on continuing to work hard. We’re doing it tough and we realise that. It would be very easy for us to buy into some of the negativity that’s flying around but we’re working very hard, we’ve got a really positive camp and people know how good a side Halifax are.
“We’re only going to get better from having played the quality of opposition that we’ve played and we’re looking forward to York. It gives us an opportunity to have a look at a couple of guys that haven’t had much game time.”