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Beware of a backlash
24/ 4/2008
MALCOLM ALKER COLUMN: I WOULDN’T want to be in Whitehaven’s shoes tonight as I have a feeling that they are going to cop a backlash from our Challenge Cup defeat to Wakefield at the weekend.
As a squad, we were really looking forward to testing ourselves against Super League opposition on Sunday. And for the first 20 minutes I thought that we played our best rugby of the season.
Things didn’t exactly go to plan after that. It was by far and away the fastest game we have played in this year. Fatigue gradually set in. That led to our standards dropping all over the pitch and the final result was very disappointing.
But at the end of the day we were playing a very good Wakefield side who are allowed to spend four times as much on players as we are. It would have been great to claim the scalp of a Super League side live on BBC television. But that was always going to be a tough ask.
Yes, there is no shortage of Super League experience in our squad. But we also have a lot of young players who are just starting to learn their trade at professional level. They will have learnt a lot from the experience on Sunday. And as a club it was a real eye opener in terms of where we are and where we need to get to.
Everyone knows that we are desperate to be back playing in Super League again next season. But there is plenty of time between now and then and it’s up to us to make sure that we improve out of sight in that time.
Whitehaven come to the Willows on a good run of form but I fear for them tonight. I genuinely believe that we turned a corner with the way we performed in the first 20 minutes against Wakefield. If we had started the Widnes game like we started against Wakefield we would have won that game comfortably.
Our aim now is to reproduce that in the National League. If we can do that then, at this level, we are going to turn a lot of teams over big time.
Meanwhile, I have been reading that Hull FC are being linked with our young half back Richard Myler. That does not surprise me in the least. For a 17-year-old he is clearly a player of great potential and I am very happy that he is part of our squad.
He is signed up for three years here and there is no need for him to be thinking about Hull or anyone else as I am sure that he will be a Super League player with us come 2009.
Got an opinion you want to share?Should less emphasis be placed on the results of tests and more emphasis on general education for children?
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