Kingstone Press Championship Preview: Featherstone Rovers v Dewsbury Rams

Featherstone Rovers built on their win over Hunslet Hawks at the weekend with an impressive victory over Bradford Bulls on Wednesday.

Coach Andy Hay said: “It was a good win for us. I think it probably came down to the enthusiasm we showed, which carries you through a lot of games. We were in a frame of mind where every player put their hand up and had a real good dig.

“I’m pleased for the players, they’ve had some stick from fans and outside sources and I thought we stood up against a very good side and got a great win.

“Hopefully Dewsbury will be a bit rusty; we’ll definitely be game-ready. It’s going to be tough, it’s always a close game when we play Dewsbury.

“We had a battle over at their place earlier in the year and last year. We got the wins both times but they made it very tough for us.

“Coming off the back of two games and trying to get the players’ feet back on the ground after Wednesday will be a task in itself. But we set our goal to be in the top four and Dewsbury are up next. We need to get a win.”

Scrum-half Gareth Moore, stand-off Paul Cooke and prop Matt James are all back in the squad.

Dewsbury Rams coach Glenn Morrison believes the week off will have done his side a lot of good.

“I think we needed it,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of rugby of late with the couple of midweek games. It was probably a good time to freshen up and hopefully get back on track.

“Featherstone are coming good at the right time. Wednesday’s game will be a confidence booster for them but they’ve got to back up. I know they rested a few players, so it’s going to be a tough one but one that we really need to compete in if we want to finish anywhere near where we want to be at the end of the year.”

Centre Shane Grady could be available this week.