Seeds encouraged by Haven

Whitehaven RLFC coach David Seeds will check on “a couple” of injuries ahead of Sunday’s Northern Rail Cup clash against Halifax RLFC but he does not expect to be facing any serious fitness problems as ‘Haven search for a first win of the season.

Seeds was encouraged by last week’s 16-16 draw with Sheffield Eagles. Now he wants more of the same on Sunday.

“I was pleased with the performance,” said Seeds. “We wanted a response and a reaction from the disappointment of the Workington game. We’re just looking for improvement each week – that’s our main concern.

“We went toe to toe with a good Sheffield pack. I was very pleased with how the team went and we had a couple of great individual performances. Hopefully that’s set the standard and it’s the standard I expect each week.

“We’ve proven we can go toe to toe with these bigger clubs now. Halifax have got a lot of great players in their squad and it’s going to be a tough game, but there’s no pressure on our lads. We’ll just worry about our own performance.”

Halifax coach Matt Calland has been dealt a major blow after centre Mike Ratu was ruled out for four months after breaking his arm in last week’s 50-10 win over Oldham.

Adam Rudd (shoulder) and Lee Paterson (ankle) are also unavailable this week, although Paterson is expected to miss only a fortnight’s action.

Calland admitted to being impressed by his side’s big win last week. He said: “It was a big improvement and we’re going in the right direction.”