Thunder put their faith in defence

Jul 4 2009 by Steven Impey

ASSISTANT coach Chris Hood is relying on a massive Gateshead Thunder defence to break Featherstone’s attacking prowess tomorrow.

Under new coach Steve McCormack, with a few fresh faces and a sprinkle of confidence to gel the two, Hood is expecting a different outing than the disappointing home loss to Featherstone under April showers.

And two wins on the trot, one over fellow Co-Operative Championship strugglers Leigh and another more strikingly over league leaders Halifax, means things may be on rise for a Gateshead side aiming to eradicate their bitter-sweet away form.

Hood is pleased with the team’s progression so far under newly assigned McCormack and believes a win at the Chris Moyles Stadium this weekend will propel them away from relegation plunder, into contention for playoff places.

“There’s a great feeling in the squad,” said Hood. “Steve’s come in and shaken things up and galvanized our defensive line.

“So you may see a different game against Featherstone on Sunday.

“The fixture back in April was one of our lowest scoring games this season. But playing in pouring rain that evening we knew it was going to be tough against a good Featherstone side.

“Since then we’ve made good ground, bringing in a few players on loan, and bulking up our squad.

“There’s nobody who works harder than Steve. He challenges everyone at the club to improve, including myself, and just has a great way of making you push your own boundaries.

“He’s quoted as saying that it’s not the things he’s changed that please him most, but the things he hasn’t had to.

“I feel a galvanised defence will therefore be our key on Sunday, something Steve and myself have focused on this week.”

“Going to Featherstone is always a great place to play,” Hood continued. “When you go there you know it’s always going to be a battle.

“I would say there is no one more intimidating to play in our league than Featherstone.

“They’ve got a good coach (Daryll Powell), and a recognised group of players. So I do belive we go into the game as underdogs.

“It’s important to bring something away from each game. I don’t believe we will be relegated this season.

“If we focus on our performances rather than league position we may actually be looking at the play-off places.

“If we can do that, obviously next season will be even better than this one.”