North Wales Crusaders head coach Carl Forster has said that his side will be aiming to return to the top of Betfred League One this Sunday when they welcome Newcastle Thunder to Stadiwm CSM.
Forster’s Crusaders side have lost just one of their opening six Betfred League One games this season, and with no other teams in action this weekend, they will have the opportunity to return to summit on Sunday when Newcastle Thunder visit North Wales.
Speaking to the media ahead of the game, Forster said: “We were really disappointed with our performance against Swinton, and I think we all came away from that game frustrated as we could have done so much better.
“On the back of that, we’ve had a week without a game, so we’ve been training hard, had good conversations around what went wrong and how we improve, and we’re hungry to go out there this week and put on a show for our fans.
“Whilst we didn’t play last week, the teams around us did, and that’s seen Midlands and Workington overtake us, albeit having played a game more, so our focus this week is simple – we go out there and give a response to our poor showing last time out, and we move back to the top of the league ahead of a tough run of games.”
Forster’s North Wales side will be no strangers to Newcastle this season, with the sides having already met in 2025 as Crusaders ended Thunder’s cup hopes with a 60-0 victory.
However, Forster said he’s expecting a tougher challenge this weekend: “It would be disrespectful to Newcastle to look at that previous result and think that this game is going to be easy.
“They’re a really strong side, and we played them at a time when there were a lot of new players all coming together, so I won’t take much from that game if I’m honest.
“They won’t go away or back down at any point in the game, and if we go into Sunday with the wrong mindset or we switch off then trust me when I sat that Newcastle have the ability within their ranks to hurt us.
“What I’m expecting us a group of young players who are hungry to kick-on and do Newcastle proud.
“Chris Thorman will always have his side playing a good brand of rugby, and he’s building a tight knit group of boys up there who are only going to get better as the season plays out.”
Whilst Forster has called upon his team to make a return to the top of the league this weekend, he has also reiterated the need to not get carried away with their strong early season form: “Ofcourse going into this week, the aim is to go top again, but I think we’re also looking at the bigger picture here as we get into the business part of the season.
“This league is so tight, everyone has a chance and teams are taking points off each other on a weekly basis.
“You look at that top four, and it’s difficult to call isn’t it?
“For us, I look at the run of games which we’re about to enter now, many of which are at home, and I think that it could really shape our season, and that starts this week against Newcastle in Colwyn Bay.”