Clark: Our game management needs to be better

Workington Town head coach Dave Clark has admitted his side need to learn how to close out tight games after a narrow opening day defeat.

The Cumbrian club were beaten 20-24 by Newcastle Thunder at Derwent Park.

“There are going to be tougher games and we need to manage those better so that’s a challenge to our players moving forward,” he said.

“If we start to dominate can we be consistent in our play and play the whole 80 minutes and not allow the opposition to get back into the game?”

Wigan youngster Jack Higginson made his first appearance for Workington after arriving on a one-month loan and Clark thinks he can make a big impact.

The 19-year—old has linked up with Clark’s men with Kyle Shelford returning to the Warriors.

“He was quite physical and ran the ball really well so I’m expecting good things from him in this four-week period,” he added.

“For the first game I couldn’t ask for anymore from him really.

“You know their standards are going to be quite high coming from down there and that they’ll meet the same standards of our play so it’s great to have those calibre of players in our side.”

Clark also praised a number of other individuals and admitted it is good to see his whole squad showing how they can make a positive impact.

“For me it’s going to be good to work alongside both of those players but also the rest of the players we have in our squad,” he added.

“Carl Forber is playing well as is Tom Curwen, who has come out of the community game.

“There is also Sam Dowsett so we’ve got players that’ve been putting their hands up through pre-season which is quite positive for me as a coach moving forward.”

Workington’s next match sees them travel to Oxford this Sunday, who registered their first two points of the season with a convincing 40-12 home win against Hemel Stags.