French lesson for Knights about merits of team bonding (From York Press)

French lesson for Knights about merits of team bonding

9:48am Saturday 30th April 2011 in Diary By Steve Carroll, Sports reporter

WHO would have thought all York City Knights needed was a holiday?

The trip to Toulouse may not really have been about getting out the sun-loungers in the south of France but it seems a few days away from Blighty did head coach Dave Woods and his team the world of good.

You only have to hear assistant coach Chris Thorman talk to understand how big a deal the Knights’ 16-10 win over their French opponents could be in the context of their season.

It didn’t just mean the Huntington Stadium-based outfit recorded their first win of the campaign, it has given the team renewed confidence going into an equally important home game against Dewsbury tomorrow.

Their west Yorkshire foes are immediately above them in the Championship table. Beat them, and the world suddenly looks so much rosier than it did after Hunslet handed the Knights a thumping on Good Friday.

Then, Woods suggested a few of his players could “put their passports away” following a performance he branded as “embarrassing”.

But it seems the Knights’ trip to the continent helped them to find a new gear.

And it might just have had other equally important benefits – aside from the obvious of notching a win and gathering precious points.

The team, stuck together as a tight unit, had vital time to get to know each other.

Thorman, a man who knows all about the benefits of teamwork, reckons that could be the key thing to take out of Monday’s success.

“It was a really important victory,” he told The Press.

“Confidence is a massive thing in this game. All the coaching staff believed we have been doing the right things over the past few weeks and we just needed a win to prove to the boys that we were doing the right things.

“It was a really good opportunity to mix with the boys on a personal and social level and just relax with them.

“We were there for four days. It was just nice to spend a bit of time with each other. We’ve not really done much of that apart from on the training field. It was a really good opportunity to bond.”

For Woods, it has probably underlined the importance of having a pre-season getaway – something the Knights were denied this term because of their schedule of friendly matches.

“It was just being with each other, living in each other’s pockets, and it gave us an opportunity to spend some time with the players and individuals and chat with them about things,” he said.

“We spoke to them about being there for each other, getting each other’s backs, and supporting them on the field when they have done something well.

“When there was a big shot, everyone went in to congratulate the player. It was really good. Normally we want to do that in pre-season. We go to an army base but the amount of friendlies we played meant we couldn’t do that this year.

“It’s one of those things. We need those friendlies to keep the revenue coming in.”

Just as importantly, with a win now in the bag, may be the Knights can play a little more with the shackles off.

“The win does mean it feels like the monkey is off our backs,” Thorman added. “We can start to relax. We earmarked the Hunslet, Toulouse and Dewsbury games as big matches.

“Obviously we lost to Hunslet but we got right back on track (against Toulouse) and we are a side full of confidence at the moment. Dewsbury will be another massive game.”

April powers displayed by Freer

THERE is double joy for Nathan Freer.

Not only did the big prop secure man-of-the-match honours as the Knights picked up their first win of the season at Toulouse on Easter Monday, he has also been named by readers as the The Press Player of the Month for April.

It was a close-run thing, with Steve Lewis, David Sutton and Jack Stearman among those receiving nominations. But Freer just edged ahead and has landed with a thump on The Press Player of the Year standings.

Having not picked up a point before Toulouse, Freer has now scored six – three for his man-of-the-match honours and three bonus points for being named as Player of the Month.

He has still got a way to go to catch runaway leader John Davies but he is on the board with a bang.

Other points from the Toulouse victory went to Duane Straugheir (2) and Jack Stearman (1).

The Press player of the year standings: Davies 15 points, Sutton 8, Lee 8, Massey 7, Freer 6, Straugheir 6, Thorman 5, Presley 5, Benson 4, Clarke 3, Jones 3, Waterman 2, Esders 2, Stearman 1.