We can win the Grand Final from fourth position : Thu Sep 10, 2009 10:27 am
According to Cullen;
Widnes coach Paul Cullen says his side are ready to make history, insisting: “We can win the Grand Final from fourth position.”
The Vikings have not played a competitive fixture since they beat Whitehaven 58-10 in their final Co-operative Championship league match on August 22.
Cullen said: “The three week break from matches has done us the world of good, although we have trained hard in the meantime.
“It’s a bonus to have a home fixture but there will be no over confidence in the camp. We need to treat Whitehaven with respect.”
He continued: “They have a good kicking game. In our encounter at the Recre (on May 7) they scored four tries through kicks, with McNally and Rudd outstanding. Howard Hill should return for them this week having missed our previous game and he will add to what is already an outstanding pack of forwards and one of the best in the Championship.
“Unfortunately Toa Kohe Love will miss out through injury but apart from that we’re fully fit and raring to go. I certainly believe we can win the Grand Final from fourth position.”
’Haven coach Ged Stokes insists there is no pressure on his side as he battles a mounting injury list.
Stokes said: “We’ve achieved what we wanted to in the league. We’ve made the play-offs and that’s been an exceptional effort by our players to do that. The contribution from the players this year has been tremendous.
“We’ve been written off and probably in some respects rightly so after our last two performances, but we’re fairly renowned for bouncing back from adversity.”
He added: “We’ve got quite an injury list, which is a bit of a worry. We’ve got some definitely out, some maybe out and some sickness as well. We won’t be able to field what we perceive to be our strongest team but our strength has always been our squad.”
On Widnes, Stokes said: “They’ll be raring to go. They’ve had two and a half weeks off and they’ll be injury free. Everything’s in their favour and with all logic they have to be red-hot favourites. Add on to that the fact they’re a good team too and we’ve got quite a challenge – but we’re used to facing those challenges head on.”
The Vikings have not played a competitive fixture since they beat Whitehaven 58-10 in their final Co-operative Championship league match on August 22.
Cullen said: “The three week break from matches has done us the world of good, although we have trained hard in the meantime.
“It’s a bonus to have a home fixture but there will be no over confidence in the camp. We need to treat Whitehaven with respect.”
He continued: “They have a good kicking game. In our encounter at the Recre (on May 7) they scored four tries through kicks, with McNally and Rudd outstanding. Howard Hill should return for them this week having missed our previous game and he will add to what is already an outstanding pack of forwards and one of the best in the Championship.
“Unfortunately Toa Kohe Love will miss out through injury but apart from that we’re fully fit and raring to go. I certainly believe we can win the Grand Final from fourth position.”
’Haven coach Ged Stokes insists there is no pressure on his side as he battles a mounting injury list.
Stokes said: “We’ve achieved what we wanted to in the league. We’ve made the play-offs and that’s been an exceptional effort by our players to do that. The contribution from the players this year has been tremendous.
“We’ve been written off and probably in some respects rightly so after our last two performances, but we’re fairly renowned for bouncing back from adversity.”
He added: “We’ve got quite an injury list, which is a bit of a worry. We’ve got some definitely out, some maybe out and some sickness as well. We won’t be able to field what we perceive to be our strongest team but our strength has always been our squad.”
On Widnes, Stokes said: “They’ll be raring to go. They’ve had two and a half weeks off and they’ll be injury free. Everything’s in their favour and with all logic they have to be red-hot favourites. Add on to that the fact they’re a good team too and we’ve got quite a challenge – but we’re used to facing those challenges head on.”
Taken from The RFL site.
