Bitterly-disappointed player-coach Gareth Lewis fully expects his Huddersfield players to find the right response to their 47-7 thrashing at the hands of National II North rivals Otley at the weekend.
A highly-promising start to their campaign came to an abrupt end with the seven-try mauling at Cross Green Street.
But Lewis, who played his first game in 11 months off the substitutes’ bench because of the absence of several key players, knows that if his young side learn the lessons from this weekend’s painful experience it will stand them in good stead for the future.
“This has to be seen as a a wake-up call,” said Lewis, who singled out Austen Thompson as the pick of his players on a day when they were very few positives.
“Up until this game, we’d won some close encounters and lost some close encounters, so this has been a bit of a shock to the system.
“I’ve been on the end of some hidings like this in the past, and the key is how you respond to them. You’ve got to be strong, mentally, and it’ll be a good test of character for the boys.
“We’re a young side and we’re still learning at this level, and I know everyone has it in them to find a positive response to what went on at the weekend.
“For the first 15 minutes we were on top and Chris Bell was running the game well.
“But as soon as Otley scored their first try to level the game, everything changed. We went on to make mistake after mistake and conceded some very soft tries.
“This is obviously something we need to address straight away, and I’m looking forward to seeing the boys do just that.”
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Huddersfield YMCA picked up an excellent 48-31 National League Three North win at West Yorkshire rivals Morley on Saturday. Full match report in tomorrow’s Examiner.
