Championship One preview: Hemel v Gateshead

Hemel Stags are without Ciaren Clement-Pascall for up to eight weeks after he dislocated his shoulder against South Wales Scorpions.

But Stags coach Troy Perkins has an otherwise fully-fit squad to select from for Sunday’s Kingstone Press Championship One match with Gateshead Thunder.

Perkins said: “We played alright in patches last week and did well in the last quarter, but the pleasing thing is that our attitude is good.

“Gateshead look pretty sharp and I would imagine they will have a couple of dual-registration players from Hull KR, so we know they will be very dangerous.”

He added: “We are getting better each week. We weren’t a million miles away against Hunslet, then we played a bit better against Oldham and got a draw, and then put some points on South Wales at the back end of the game.

“We are improving, and we have a lot of new players that are still getting to know each other.

“It’s coming together, and we have targeted the next couple of games as very winnable. We have got Gatesead, South Wales Scorpions and then London Skolars coming up, and if we can pick up a few wins tha will put us up there on the ladder.”

Gateshead’s Rhys Clarke looks set to make his 100th career appearance on Sunday.