North Wales Crusaders head coach Carl Forster has insisted that his side are going out to win this Sunday when they welcome Cornwall RLFC to North Wales in their final Betfred League One game of the 2024 season.
Speaking to the media ahead of the game, Forster, who shall bring the curtain down on his playing career this weekend, said: “We might not be fighting it out for the play-offs this weekend, but for so many reasons it’s a really important day for this club.
“We’ve had it tough this year with injuries, and off the field there’s been a lot of changes with Jamie coming in so an eye has been on 2025 and building for that.
“I’d be lying if I said that we’re not gutted to have missed out on the play-offs, but the flip side to that is it gives us a full off-season to rest up, plan and come back ready to go next year and fight at the top end of the league.
“With that being said, we’re not too relaxed for Sunday, will we go out there and play with a bit more freedom now that the pressure is off? Yeah, I’d say so, but at the same time we’re athletes and you never want to lose.
“Our fans deserve us ending the year on a high, they’ve been incredible all year and Sunday is a brilliant opportunity to give a performance for them to be proud of and then stay behind after the match and enjoy the post-match entertainment which the club is putting on.
“We’ve got a fantastic initiative of free entry for everyone, the weather looks to be good, so it will be a brilliant afternoon and let’s get some new faces through the gate and show them just what North Wales Crusaders have to offer.
“There’s also lads out there who will be playing their last games for the club, so they’ll want to go out on a high, and it’s a chance for the fans to give them a good send off in front of a brilliant crowd too.”
Touching on his own emotions ahead of the day, Forster added: “It’s not about me on Sunday, but yeah on a personal level it will be nice to have my family there and I want to end my playing career with a win.
“I’ve had a fantastic career, I’ve loved every moment of it, some probably more than others, but in this game you can never take anything for granted, and the opportunity to have played and now coached is something I’m proud of.
“I’ve loved my time playing for the club, I’m going to have really mixed emotions come the final hooter on Sunday – a sense of relief in a way and a chance to focus on coaching and the next stage of my career, but also a strange feeling having been playing for over 20 years that it’s come to an end.”
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