COACHES of Whitehaven RLFC will look to bring their A-game against Newcastle Thunder in their next clash, learning from the side’s mistakes against Dewsbury Rams this past weekend.

Haven found themselves on the wrong side of a 17-8 defeat against Dewsbury on Saturday after beating the side in the Challenge Cup two weeks prior.

Reacting to Saturday’s game, assistant coach Jonty Gorley said: “The disappointing thing was, we were working on our goal line defence over the last few sessions.”

Gorley said that lapses in concentration can be costly in a competitive league by the Betfred Championship.

“In the Championship, you clock off for a second and it’s try time for the opposition.

“That first try it’s about three to four seconds worth of not concentrating the second and third tries were individual error defensively.

“You can’t get away from the systems you want to use.”

Next up for Whitehaven are Newcastle Thunder, they welcome their North East opposition to the Recreation Ground on April 18.

“They’ve got a good squad Newcastle, they’ve been going about their business quietly.”

Newcastle at home is a game that could mean a change in fortunes for Haven. Gorley said the squad will then look at the field and strategise: “When you’re going to someone that’s spent three, four times what Whitehaven has on their squads we’ve got to be realistic. We’ve got to fight the right battles.

“We’re not a million miles away. The Widnes game, Dewsbury last weekend, they’re fixable things that we can put right. We were well in control for the first 25 minutes and after that it went downhill.”

But Gorley remains positive about upcoming Championship clashes: “We’re not miles off those teams, we’re seconds and inches off getting those wins. We’ve got to be really switched on for 80 minutes.”