Championship preview: Workington v Swinton (Sun)

Shaun Briscoe and Dan Rooney are Workington Town’s only absentees ahead of Sunday’s showdown with Swinton Lions.

Jamie Thackeray and Mark Calderwood are back in contention for Workington, who have played fewer games than anyone else in the Kingstone Press Championship but remain in the top eight.

Workington coach Gary Charlton said: “We had last week off and that seems to have done us some good. A few blokes were carrying little knocks, but everyone trained really well on Tuesday.

“This is a big game for Swinton as well as ourselves. They’re going to come out fast and really strong, and it’s up to us to be able to match that intensity.”

He added: “We’ve got to be looking to get three points. We’ve got home advantage, which is a big thing in this league, and if we defend like we did against Dewsbury then we shouldn’t be too far off.”

Struggling Swinton have won only one of their last seven games, but they are boosted by the return of Richie Hawkyard and Matt Sarsfield for Sunday’s trip north.

Assistant player-coach Ian Watson said: “We have to be stand up and be counted.”