Championship Talk: Capital Gains

CHAMPIONSHIP TALK

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Capital gains

LONDON Skolars are emerging as one of the early success stories of the 2019 campaign.

Only two teams separated the capital club and the very foot of the professional game at the end of last season.

Coach Jermaine Coleman admits it was his toughest year in the sport as the capital club fell well below expectations, with a number of mitigating factors playing out in the background.

But seven matches into the new Betfred League One campaign, Coleman’s side sit third in the table, having swept previous table-toppers Hunslet aside 42-26 in Yorkshire in their most recent match.

It’s been a remarkable turnaround, and Coleman - a talented halfback who now has firm roots in London and is a member of the successful Jamaican coaching set-up - is keen for it to continue.

“Last year was a poor season on the pitch for us,” Coleman admitted.

“It was difficult as a coach and by a million miles the hardest year I’ve had.

“We underperformed on the pitch, there wasn’t the commitment from the players to training which leads to losing performances, and it became a Catch-22 situation.

“There was a really poor culture about the place, like rugby league owed us all something.

“We needed to get rid of that.

“There’s been a change in culture at the club and a real buzz about the place now.”

Coleman also cites the arrival of Gareth Hatherley-Hurford as his assistant as a major factor, along with the form of key quartet Neil Thorman, Ilies Macani, Jordan Williams and Ronny Palumbo, among others.

Then there was the Challenge Cup exit to North Wales Crusaders, which proved to be another turning point.

“North Wales was a big kick in the teeth,” Coleman added.

“We had a bit of a sit down after that and talked about what our expectations were and what we want to achieve as a group.

“We almost went back to under-16s stuff and became very structured, and the fruit of that culminated in the Hunslet performance.

“We didn’t really set ourselves any targets this season off the back of last year.

“It’s still early and the league can look very different in three weeks’ time, but if we get two or three results from our next four games we will be in a strong position to make the play-offs.

“We’ve shown in the performances against Hunslet and Workington that if we get our game right we’re more than a match for any team in this league.”