Mike Eccles programme notes

I’m delighted that we have been able to welcome back Sid over the last two weeks, albeit with minimal involvement as we look to get him back to full match fitness. Ethan Natoli played last week and was unsurprisingly outstanding, as always. We have missed his unrelenting energy and competitiveness. This week it is the return of crowd favourite Lewis Bienek. We have missed Lewis’ punch and power, but also his personality around the group. Josh Rourke also made the 21 man squad this week but requires another week's training to be fully considered. Josh has looked very sharp in training though and will be competing for a spot for the Hull KR match. It’s fantastic that we are slowly putting back together our squad. 

It gives us more depth to pick from, but also improves the standard of training with larger numbers and the competition for places. Going the other way is Dean Parata who misses out through a head knock. Jack Campagnolo and Emmanuel Waine continue their recovery from a quad and back injury respectively. 

Moving on to today's match we play a very different looking Hull FC from the last time we played them. They have a handful of new faces in there from either recruitment or players returning from injury. They also have Simon Grix in position whom we have locked horns with many times in the past from his time at Halifax. Simon is a great coach, and he likes his teams to play! They shift the ball early in sets to find space but will equally look to challenge short side defences with smarts and trick plays from taps. He has certainly let the reigns off Hull. They will pose a great threat today with their rejuvenated energy and very big pack!

For us, it's simply about trying to keep improving where we can. Last time out at home we produced our best defensive performance of the season. We will be looking to do the same today whilst trying to post points where we can around the areas we have identified in our previews of Hull. 

Enjoy the game and get behind the boys as you always do. 

Mike