Published at 11:08, Thursday, 05 April 2012

GET here as fast as you can – that was my plea to Whitehaven’s two Papua New Guinea captures in the aftermath of an embarrassing Northern Rail Cup exit at Derwent Park.

Prayers were partly answered when one member of the PNG international duo was due to touch down in wintry England yesterday.

Jessie Joe Parker’s the man. Fellow compatriot Test star Glen Nami is set to follow soon but not in time to play on Good Friday.

So Jessie Joe is ready to pull on the chocolate blue and gold and learn what a West Cumbrian derby battle is all about. It’s the first Championship One encounter against the old enemy. Whether on the field for 80 minutes, or less, Jessie Joe will hopefully make a difference to a back division crying out for his kind of attacking punch.

Only it wasn’t the backs at fault in that Derwent Park debacle only a months or so ago.

Let’s face it: Haven were battered into submission up front, the pack looked powderpuff against some Town steam-rollers. The backs had no chance behind a badly beaten pack as Haven slumped to a 44-16 drubbing.

Unless Haven can muscle up this time it would make little difference if they had Sam Tomkins joining the attack. All Town’s forward fronted up on their own pitch but Jamie Thackray is the man who really must be mastered. Twice now Haven have failed to tame the ex-Great Britain prop; they can’t afford a third. Good Friday is the chance for Whitehaven’s players to lay down a marker, a statement of intent that they really do carry promotion credentials in what’s going to be a hard fought race. A chance for the new faces side and the new boss to make a real connection with the fans – beating Town would go a long way. The recent Derwent Park hiding still rankles. Haven have been hit and miss so far. Perhaps not too surprising considering the number of new faces. One more to face Town, and none more welcome.

No one expects Jessie Joe Parker to fire on all cylinders right off the plane but the hope is that he’ll add a new dynamic to Haven’s all round performance. Besides being a current Papua New Guinea international (like Glen Nami) Jessie Joe has already established his English credentials having scored 17 tries in only 14 appearances for Featherstone Rovers back in 2010. He was wanted by Super League Wakefield but there was a hitch.

He’s best at centre but can play other positions so it remains to be seen how Don Gailer plays his selection cards bearing in mind that young Steve Fox has been settling in alongside co-captain Scott McAvoy.

In The Don’s own words his side won ‘ugly’ away to an improving Gateshead, a hiding to nothing match just like the previous week’s Challenge Cup joust. t’s time to put on a performance of substance. Haven have been Town’s bunnies in 2012 so far but if The Don can pull a rabbit out of the Easter hat it will mean much more than just those local bragging rights - who goes up at the season’s end counts most. Every home win is vital and if you can deny the opposition a bonus point then it’s a bonus.

Haven played some good football in patches to beat Rochdale in the Championship pipe-opener, the defence was most impressive so it’s time to prove their teething troubles are behind them and show some teeth against those Town pack bullies - not literally of course.

Easter brings some mega derby clashes in the Super League but in our neck of the woods only one matters. Which is why especially on the back of the winning World Cup bid it would be a fillip for the West Cumbrian game to see a bumper crowd. Would 2,000 (at least 1,500) be too many to expect especially with the potential of a repeat of last Easter’s enthralling Derwent Park derby which ended in a 30-30 draw.

Pride and passion is the staple diet of any derby, but quite often winning comes down to those top three inches – cool heads and smart decision making under pressure.

And the big question is will one Jessie Joe Parker prove to be a secret weapon well worth waiting for?

Published by http://www.whitehavennews.co.uk