Featherstone target NRC glory

Featherstone have set their sights on Northern Rail Cup glory in 2011 after crashing out in the group stages last season.

Rovers were the most consistent team in the Championship in 2010, finishing the regular season at the top of the pile, before they were beaten in a thrilling Grand Final by Halifax.

But despite their impressive league form, they failed to reach the knock-out stages of the Northern Rail Cup, and chairman Mark Campbell and head coach Daryl Powell are keen to put things right.

Campbell said: “There is silverware and kudos at stake here. Last year we struggled a bit to prepare for the season and it showed in our performances in the Northern Rail. That isn’t going to happen this year. I feel that the status of the trophy grows every year, and we want to be part of its history.

“Our pre-season is going well, we’ve strengthened and we are very focused on this competition. Our aim is always to do our damndest to win every game we play, in every competition we take part in, but sometimes even  the most competitive teams have issues to deal with that affect their performance. Not this year.”

Rovers get their Northern Rail Cup campaign underway against Doncaster at the Bigfellas Stadium on February 4th, before facing York and Barrow away from home and then rounding off the group stage against last season’s finalists Widnes.