Published at 15:47, Wednesday, 28 April 2010

SOME might call it Whitehaven’s ‘squeaky bum time’ but a Bank holiday (away) win over fellow strugglers Sheffield might make life a little bit more comfortable.

Here’s hoping for the best after a much improved performance in the home defeat by powerful Halifax.

The uncomfortable sight of Haven in the bottom four is hard to take for fans accustomed to their favourites pushing hard as title contenders.

And the sight of so many empty Recre spaces for one of the season’s most attractive visitors was not encouraging for anyone, least of all budget-conscious directors.

It’s a long time since I’ve seen the “popular” side so sparse. There was more noise emanating from the Kells-End from the rival fans – blue and white the dominant colour.

The ill wind of the team’s struggle is reflected by a draught at the turnstiles which of course helps no one as the Board also struggles to get finances straightened out.

Nevertheless Haven’s display against one of the Championship’s better sides was so much better. Here was a scratch team showing true grit battling all the way to restore pride and one might suggest playing for their coach, despite recent claims to the contrary.

There was never any realistic chance of Whitehaven upsetting the odds but, by the same token, put three or at least two of those more exceptional Halifax players into the Whitehaven side and how different it might have been. Fullback Shad Royston, stand-off Luke Branighan and scrum-half Ben Black stood apart.

They’d make a difference to any of the Championship sides and capable of cutting the mustard in Super League.

Whitehaven fans have also been accustomed to a few of their own but these days sadly it’s a case of cutting cloth according to more meagre means, though Ged Stokes is apparently leaving no stone unturned in his new player quest.

Young Kiwi back rower Kurt Wilton comes from Wakefield on a month’s trial and we all hope the coach strikes lucky, enticing a Super League prop forward of some repute (though curiously Ryan MacDonald is released and snapped up by Town for the rest of the season) along with the “extra” back line pivot he refers to.

Guess it’s too much to hope for a Black or a Branighan – ironically the latter is the Aussie Gateshead brought in last season to replace Haven-bound Danny Russell only for the “pivot” to slip through Haven’s fingers – little matter of a work permit.

And pocket dynamo Ben Black, running riot for Halifax last Sunday, kept reminding me of a certain Sam Obst – oh happier days.

But there was also the increasingly familiar sight of a scrum-half (Black in this case) standing on the wing while the opposition defends a scrum – for the likes of Sol Roper, “Boxer” Walker and Harry Maddison the motto used to be “the bigger they are the harder they fall”.

One of the problems for Ged Stokes just now is the lack of big men, compounded by injuries, which has forced him to change his game plan to a more expansive style.

Predecessor Paul Crarey talked much about playing the expansive game, things didn’t quite work out for one reason or another, but one thing will never change: You can’t play any sort of effective rugby, and the backs have no chance, unless the men up front are capable of making the hard yards.

At fullback I liked my first look at dual-registration Josh Veivers, son of ex-Saints fullback Phil Veivers, and among the middle backs ex-Scottish RU cap Tom Phillip is a real big unit who could make an impact – given the space and guile the coaches yearn for.

Haven played well enough against ‘Fax to overcome lesser sides, so a repeat performance at Don Valley Stadium might just be good enough to clip the Eagles wings.

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