Whitehaven threw down a marker for the rest of NL1 on Easter Monday as they dispatched red hot title favourites Leigh in a see-saw game that saw the Leythers take an early lead, then chase the game for over an hour.

With just a handful of carefully selected additions to the squad - and a couple of carefully considered positional changes - Steve McCormack has transformed a hard-working, durable 'haven into a ruthless all-passing, all-kicking, all-tackling machine.

Two of the biggest on-field influences on 'haven's upshift in gear are ex-Hornet Mick Nanyn and Aussie scrum half Sam Obst. Nanyn's obvious talent for putting the ball between the posts has been significantly supplemented by the confidence boost provided by the move back to centre. Like most big objects, he's hard to stop when he gets going - which means lots of work for the Hornets centres and a real need to stiffen the wide channels.

Obst has caught the eye with his distribution talents. Great hands, great vision and a varied kicking repertoire make him a genuine danger to defences - and for a short bloke he tackles way above his weight too. He'll most likely be partnered at half back by Lee Kiddie who stands in for banned head-hunting nut-job Leroy Joe (as seen on TV).

Indeed, McCormack is spoiled for playmakers. Aaron lester at hooker is known to give slack markers a torrid time and just when you think you've got the measure of 'haven they add Carl Sice's perpetual motion style to the mix from the bench. It's relentless.

At the back of the pack, regular half back Craig Walsh seems to have found a niche for his go-forward attitude - and playing behind 'haven's huge combative pack, it's a job made much easier.

Across the park, Whitehaven seem to have improved significantly - and, according to reports, they finished last week's game far stronger than Leigh.

Hornets on the other hand finished last week's game at Batley by conceding three tries in the last twelve minutes - a fact not lost on Bobby Goulding. Add to that Sibson's two tries in six minutes around the hour mark and two tries conceded in the opening 13 minutes and Goulding's description of Hornets defence as 'woeful' is strikingly accurate.

It's these lacunas in Hornets' defensive concentration that Goulding will be working hard to fill. And, as seen at Batley, as heads go down, the will to commit to the tackle naturally fades. Part of the problem seens to be confidence - once the team begins to believe that it can compete, it will.

Undoubtedly, new acquistion Liam McGovern will provide that all important spark at scrum half. And the sooner the team begins to read his play, the better we'll get.

Ultimately, Hornets need a huge defensive effort against Whitehaven. Attack almost takes on secondary importance as we strive to establish a stronger foundation to build our sets on.

We all knew that this season was going to be tough - but we have to keep the faith. Strength in adversity is a powerful thing and we're all in this together. No matter how disappointed we get.

Get behind the lads at Spotland this Sunday. They need it - and you need it too.