Featherstone boss David Hobbs believes that the club’s poor away form is all in the minds of his players. He hopes to add new players very soon as he scours the limited transfer market, he said: "If not it's about bringing people in who can do the job for us. Maybe there's a comfort-zone set in among the players and I need to create more competition for places by bringing in a couple of bodies."

Vikings’ coach Steve McCormack has confirmed that skipper Mark Smith, who left the field on Sunday, will not miss the rest of the season as first feared. McCormack said: “Smithy has dislocated his elbow and he will probably be out for about six weeks.” Bob Beswick is most likely to deputise at hooker. The club are hoping to set a new attendance record for their TV clash with Salford City Reds on Thursday night. Over 5,000 tickets have already been snapped up already.

Salford prop Lee Jewitt has been ruled out of action for at least a month after suffering medial knee ligament damage. Shaun McRae has admitted that the injury is a “Major blow.” The club received a boost for their Super League license bid after backing from neighbouring Manchester. Sir Richard Leese, the leader of Manchester City Council, said: "Manchester City Council welcomes Salford City Reds’ licence application, which would bring significant benefits to the whole city region.

Celtic Crusaders have been strongly linked with the signing of Great Britain and Wales international Iestyn Harris. The Bradford Bulls stand-off is believed to be considering an offer to combine a playing and coaching role at the club should the Crusaders be successful with their Super League license application.

Wigan starlet Thomas Coyle has admitted that he found the chance of a short term move to The Shay difficult to turn down thanks to the quality of Halifax’s playing roster. Coyle, who made an impressive debut at Widnes on Sunday, said: “I looked at who Halifax had in their squad and the way they are going at the moment and I just thought it was the best option for me.” He turned down a similar move to Widnes and Celtic.

New Leigh Centurions coach Neil Kelly was pleased with his patched up side’s performance despite suffering his first defeat in charge. He said: “yes we did lose but it was not at all negative, there were players out there who showed they are really good players.” Anthony Stewart and Steve Maden should return after both their wives went into labour just hours before kick-off.

Whitehaven are hoping to finalise a deal with Whitehaven Miners Social Welfare who own the Recreation Ground. The club are hoping to tie up a fifty-year lease in a move that could help the club access funding to bring the ground up to Super League standard. Meanwhile, Tyrone Dalton has signed on trial after being released my rivals Workington. Dalton is an ex-BARLA Great Britain international.

Newly appointed Dewsbury coach Warren Jowitt has already been given the task of securing his playing staff for next year. He is also hoping to persuade on-loan Ryan Smith to stay at Ram Stadium until the end of the season instead of returning to Castleford. Prop Dominic Maloney and half-back Dean Lawford should be fit for the game against Celtic Crusaders Sunday week.

Batley Bulldogs are set to appeal against Danny Maun’s six-match ban for his challenge on Celtic Crusaders Jace Van Dijk. Van Dijk is may miss the rest of the season after a horrific jaw break. It was the first time Maun had been sent off in a career spanning more than 200 first team games with three different clubs.

Mark Aston has called for consistency from his side as they battle to get back to winning ways. He feels that they have slipped away from playing to the successful game plan that helped them to a 42-22 victory over Halifax. "You can't just turn it on one week and then go away and change what you do," said Aston. "If you've done the things that work why change them?" James Ford should return from injury in time for their next fixture.

kevin.finney@lasttackle.com