Hornets will come with confidence

ONE of the advantages of living in Rochdale at derby time is to see in the local press what Hornets have to say about their latest clash with Roughyeds.

They come to Boundary Park this Sunday, of course, in the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup and the Rochdale Observer carries two pieces about this particular derby, one headlined: 'Underdogs full of confidence for derby clash' and the other 'No fear for Hornets in Cup quest.'

So there you have it — that's what they are saying in the Hornets camp!

The first of the two articles is a piece with Hornets coach Gary Thornton, who is reported to have said that Hornets will be brimming with confidence after their narrow Law Cup defeat at BP in January and, more recently, their 44-0 trouncing of Keighley Cougars in League One.

Said Thornton:

"We've said all along that our focus is League One . That still remains, but we want to go to Oldham, give it a go, and do our best and I think if we play like we did last Sunday we'll have a chance.

We'll be going with the same game plan; the same attitude ; and with a terrific group of players.

We'll give it a shot and if Oldham are not at their best and we get a bit of luck, who knows what the result will be. The confidence in the camp is high at the minute and we'll take that confidence into the game."

So to the back page, the other article, and former Oldham forward Jordan Andrade's comment that Hornets will have 'no fear' about the derby.

He said:

"I know it's not our main focus, but the derby is always a game that produces a fantastic atmosphere and its good to test ourselves against quality opposition.

We'll get more out of playing someone like Oldham than we would against a lesser team, so the lads will be excited by the challenge.

Andrade, who scored one of the Hornets eight tries against Cougars, added:

"On paper they had a very strong side, but we didn't let them find their rhythm and we ended up taking control."

Hornets had four ex-Oldham players in their starting line-up against Keighley, Greg McNally at full-back, Luke Nelmes at prop, Zak Baker in the second-row and Emmerson Whittel at loose-forward, and two more on the bench, namely Andrade and Deane Meadows.

Andrade, McNally and Meadows all scored tries.