SUNDAY'S game against Barrow was a great end to a terrible week for me. Illness caused me to miss the latter part of our preparation for the game and I would like to pay credit to the professionalism of the players and coaching staff for preparing so well.

WE CAME very close to making this one of the outstanding games of the season. At times we were unstoppable, but loss of concentration during two 10 minute periods gifted Barrow their points.

However a win by a 40-point margin against a team which has a good chance of making the play-offs, is a good result.

Although I don't often like to highlight individuals I think Craig Horne's performance was an emphatic response to some criticisms he has received on our web site.

A BIG thankyou to Harrison & Clough for supporting the Children's Day which was a big success, and for their continued sponsorship of our Community Programme. the hundreds of children that attended had a great time and we hope to repeat the exercise in the future.

THE NEXT three weeks are probably the closest we will come to a 'play-off zone' situation with games against Widnes (away), Leigh (home) and Whitehaven (away).

Despite some disappointing results Widnes have a team stacked with individual talent and will be eager to turn this season around. Leigh are still undefeated and won't give up that record easily and together with a strong Whitehaven side they will present us with two very big games.

It will certainly be a strong indicator of what is required to win the championship.

MAKE sure you keep next Wednesday free for what will be a massive game for our Alliance team. They are still undefeated at the top of their division after an impressive win against Batley last week.

Leigh's second string will be making the trip to Cougar Park and the game could determine the outcome of the Alliance Championship -- it will also be a great prelude to the following weekend's clash between the first teams.