But, for 40 minutes, we saw at Lawkholme Lane that the Cougars are capable of playing some tidy football and Hornets can't afford to give an old head like Eaton too much space to operate. Assuming he makes the line-up. Barry the kicking robot was conspicuously absent from last week's team - the number 7 jersey filled by try-scoring Scott Nixon - and the kicking duties taken by second rower Richard Knight who landed three from four attempts. Also chipping in with a try last week was non-stop veteran prop Phil Stephenson - who demonstrated in our recent game that a big bloke is hard to stop from a yard!

But he's got a decent all-round game too - and his performance against Oldham gained plaudits in the press. "Phil Stephenson looks like the old fashioned sort (of prop)..." wrote Ian Wilson in the League Express, "... he had a superb game, offloading more than the rest of the two packs combined and even beiing the man in support... to get his side off the mark. It was, perhaps, no coincidence that Oldham's late revival at the stat of the third quarter occured when Stephenson was taking a brief rest."

Here at Hornets, Darren Abram has two main concerns. The fitness of Casey Mayberry and the preposterous three match ban imposed on Lee Doran following his dismissal against Oldham for a supposed spear tackle that was spurious at best.

Mayberry's injury - picked up fielding a bomb at Halifax last week - could open the door for the return of Chris Campbell, who turned down a loan move to Oldham this week. Campbell's form on attack and defence last season made him a stalwart of the side and he'll be keen to get some game time.

Doran's absence could herald a return for Andy Gorski - though big-hitting Dave Cunliffe has yet to feature this term and he could provide an option. Indeed, it's been rumoured this week that both Cunliffe and Kris Radcliffe have been approached to go on loan to Blackpool Panthers in order to gain some vital match fitness.

However, the biggest factor to the outcome of Sunday afternoon is the weather. Hard frost this morning has set the ground rock-hard and it'll take a thaw of gargantuan proportions to reverse its effects. So, pray for lots of sunshine between now and three o'clock on Sunday.

And if our prayers are answered, we'll see you there.