SIMON SMITH: Squad is being tested to the limit

Our strength in depth is really being tested at the moment, with a number of first-team players on the physio's table.
Simon Smith's weekly columnSimon Smith's weekly column
Simon Smith's weekly column

We had Jordan Wakeham, Ben Martin and Phil Watson added to our list of unavailable players for our trip to Moortown on Saturday.

Add to that list Tom Harrison, Phil Stewart, Matty Young and Ali Sutton and you see how much our squad is being tested.

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There are no excuses on our part at all from Saturday’s defeat - the guys who came up to the first team did well, but on the day Moortown were the better team and deserved to win the game.

They have recruited in some good overseas players and they were a big, strong and well-drilled side.

Their number 10 kicked well in the first half and got them good field position, they had an elusive number nine, a big and strong number eight and their 13 ran well too.

It is incredibly important that the players bounce straight back now and we have two very winnable home fixtures against sides near the bottom of the table to finish 2017 on a positive note.

Having said that, Yorkshire One is a very tough league.

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There are no easy games in this league and if you take your foot off the accelerator, you will lose.

We have been incredibly well supported at Silver Royd this season and I expect that to continue when North Ribblesdale travel to us on Saturday.

I have to say thank you to our fans. They have really backed the players this season and the guys have responded.

Even when we lost to Heath at home, there was nothing but positivity in the clubhouse afterwards.

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They’re a knowledgeable bunch and they understand that the players are trying to play an exciting, attractive brand of rugby and they’re behind that.

I hope we can bounce back and finish 2018 with two home wins now

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