Newcastle Thunder v Midlands Hurricanes match thoughts and other League One matches

Unfortunately I missed my first Thunder home game in a long time yesterday but I wanted to write some thoughts down.

I've listened to an interview with Hurricanes coach Mark Dunning and he says that we give it all and don't go away. That's my thoughts on things, these lads regardless of results play with a lot of heart and never take a backwards step. Yesterday we went in 16-6 down and look to have played our best half of rugby in a while.

In the second half it looks as though experience and interchanges started to make a difference with the result being 6-54. In the preview I said i wanted to see us come out the blocks and let anyone who turns up at Crow Trees to know they're on Tyneside. That has to be a given in our home games and it was good to see it looks like this happened yesterday. From there it's all about staying in the fight for as long as possible to frustrate teams. Another plus point from yesterday is we didn't concede on the hooter. Harry Lowery bagged another try yesterday as he continues to develop nicely in his second season at this level.

I've seen some negative stuff written about Thunder but what I would say is this young team gives everything for Chris and the badge. In the games I've seen there has been an improvement on performances from last season, unfortunately the scorelines don't reflect the effort Thunder put in. If you read this and are one of the people who like to be negative about things then I'm more than happy to have a chat about things. The hardcore supporters get it and get the journey Thunder are on. There are people working very hard volunteering their time to keep the club going, come down to Blaydon and get behind the team.

League One roundup

Elsewhere in League One there was a big win for Whitehaven in Cornwall, going back to Cumbria with a 78-6 win. Dewsbury won at home against a Keighley outfit yet to win in the league this season. Swinton won a close game 30-28 against Goole who came out second in another tight game for them, I have a feeling their first league victory won't be too far away.. Finally another tight game in Cumbria saw North Wales come out 14-16 winners at Workington. All the above means that Hurricanes continue to lead on seven points but it's still very early days yet in what in the main is a hugely competitive league.

Next up

Next up for Thunder is a tough trip to Whitehaven who turned on the power in Cornwall, the game is next Sunday at 15:00. Once squads are announced I'll post a preview on here.