North Wales Crusaders head coach Carl Forster has expressed his excitement ahead of Sunday’s Betfred Challenge Cup tie away to Cornwall as his new-look squad travel to the south coast for their first taste of competitive action in 2025.
Speaking to the media ahead of the game, Forster said: “We can’t wait to get going, we’ve had a strong pre-season, the attitude has been spot on throughout the group, and now everyone is eager to get out and show what we’re about this year.
“In every training session you can feel the competition for places and then when the session ends you also get a sense of the real bond this group of players have, and for me as a coach, it’s a fantastic combination to have.
“Every place in squad has competition, and the lads are thriving in that environment, we’ve added some real quality into the squad on top of the solid base we retained from last year, and now it’s a case of getting out onto the pitch and showing what we can do.”
The winner of Sunday’s second round tie shall go on to face either Widnes or Rochdale in the Challenge Cup third round, however, Forster says his sights are firmly set on Sunday’s opponents only: “We all know the draw for the next round, but we can’t let ourselves look any further than Sunday, and that’s been the message to the lads.
“Cornwall are no easy opponents, especially down at there place.
“They know how to play their pitch, and how to play to their strengths, and they make it a really difficult game.
“We have to focus on ourselves, and putting into practise everything which we’ve been doing in pre-season.
“The group of lads we have here have a fantastic attitude and bond, and if we carry that into the games then we’re in for an exciting year.”
