North Wales Crusaders head coach Carl Forster has said that there’s no room for mistakes as he spoke to the media before his side’s trip to face Cornwall this weekend.
Sunday shall see North Wales look to make it three wins on the bounce following victories over Workington and Newcastle respectively.
However, despite Cornwall being sat near the root of the table, Forster has warned his players to forget about league positions going into the clash on the south coast: “I think that’s the danger [seeing Cornwall sat second from bottom] isn’t it.
“You only have to look at last weekend to see Keighley going down there joint top of the league and really being pushed all the way to know that this won’t be an easy encounter whatsoever.
“We carry that confidence that on our day we have the ability to challenge any team in this league, but mark my words if we turn up with the wrong attitude on Sunday then Cornwall will come away with the win - they’re a very good side.
“For me I’m looking at building momentum, we’ve had two really solid victories in our last two games and a lot of noise outside the camp is around the Midlands game at home the week after and what that could mean for our play-off push, but my message to the lads is our full concentration is on Cornwall this weekend and giving them the respect which they deserve.”
Having already faced Sunday’s hosts in league action this season, Forster is also mindful of taking too much from their previous encounter into Sunday’s game: “Looking at it, you’re almost looking at two different sides, so whilst each of us will have looked back at that earlier game this week, I think it’s more important to focus on recent games.
“Cornwall have grown as the season has gone on, they’ve also recruited further, as have we, so I’m expecting a very different game.
“We’re a bit battered and bruised this week, losing a few lads to injury and coming off the back of a long trip to Newcastle last week, but that’s no excuse to not go down there and come away with the points.
“Yes, it probably gives a few lads an opportunity, but that’s on them now to go out there and put a performance in which puts them into contention for a shirt next week and the weeks after.
“Despite the injuries which we have, I’ll go down to Cornwall this weekend with every confidence in the team I select and know it has the ability to win provided our attitude is correct and we’re clinical in what we do - there’s going to be no room for mistakes.”
This week has also seen North Wales Crusaders enter into a dual-registration partnership with Championship outfit Widnes Vikings, allowing the club to call on players who haven’t been selected by Widnes for their games, something which Forster believes will strengthen the squad going into the business end of the season: “We’re hitting that time aren’t we, everyone is starting to get injured bodies in their squads, teams around us in the table have these partnerships in place and we sat down and needed to ensure that we are on a level playing field going into the back end of the season.
“Play-offs isn’t just a target for us, it’s the minimum requirement, and if some weeks we need to call on a few players from Widnes to bridge gaps we have due to injury, that’s a really good option to have at our disposal.”
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