UNDERBANK coach Richard Knight is hoping the pain of losing last week’s home play-off clash to Kippax will motivate his players to get back to their best for tomorrow’s Co-operative Conference National final eliminator against Hemel Stags at The Cross (2.30).
The Bank boss admits the 17-8 defeat to the Knights hit his side hard, when a win would have guaranteed Rangers a place in the Grand Final at Warrington on October 2.
Having finished top at the end of the regular season, Underbank were desperate to win in the play-offs at the first attempt and reach their third successive final with the minimum of fuss.
But Rangers now face the prospect of having to beat the Stags to reach the Halliwell Jones Stadium or see their season come to a premature end.
“Having worked so hard to finish as minor champions, we don’t want to see all that go to waste tomorrow,” said Knight.
“We’d obviously hoped we wouldn’t be playing this game. After finishing top, we wanted to win last weekend and have this week off.
“But against Kippax we didn’t deserve it, so now we have to try again against Hemel tomorrow.
“And I’m hoping the bitter experience of what it was like to lose last Saturday will ensure there’s no repeat second time around.
“Everyone was bitterly disappointed with the way it went and once was bad enough.
“It’s up to the boys to make sure it doesn’t happen twice, because that’ll be even worse.”
But with Rangers boosted by the return of experienced duo Andy Boothroyd and Alex Chatterton, who were both unavailable a week ago, Knight is hoping everything will go according to plan.
“Kippax played the perfect no-risk play-off game to beat us,” said Knight, who has lost the services of prop Craig Williams with a split lip that has required plastic surgery to repair it.
“We need to do the same tomorrow, and with Andy and Alex back I’m sure that’s what we’ll do.”
Underbank: Hendrick, Midgley, Briggs, Ryder, Smith, Knight, Barrett, Carroll, Dalby, Housley, Joyce, St Hilaire, Mitchell, Geoghegan, Cummings, Horsfall, Boothroyd, Chatterton, Allette.