Whitehaven stumbled to a 30-12 defeat at rock bottom Newcastle Thunder – as the storm clouds gather over the LEL Arena.
There have been depressing rumours all season about Whitehaven’s financial health, and numerous pleas for help from the hard-pressed, depleted board.
Coach Jonty Gorley sounded utterly depressed after the game, but also scathing about his side’s performance which has left them looking over their shoulders at the four teams below them in the table.
He also confirmed that “three middles have left the club this week” and Haven were down to the bare 17 for the trip to Newcastle.
“But I’m not making that an excuse for the defeat. We picked a side which was good enough to win at Newcastle.
“But what happened was embarrassing. Newcastle out enthused us from the word go and that was not how I coach this side to play. Every game I want us to be the hardest-working team and that was far from the case.
“It’s well documented the things that are happening at the club but we have 80 minutes each week to put that aside, and that didn’t happen today,” said Gorley.
Surviving financially could be more pressing than avoiding relegation to League One, and completing their last eight fixtures with a depleted squad is also of serious concern.
There have been numerous rumours during the season of players not being paid and threatening to walk away, indeed there has been a suggestion this week that a number of players have offered themselves to neighbours Workington Town.
All clearly not good for morale ahead of a game at Newcastle, which appears to have been well-founded as the West Cumbrians were 14-0 down at half-time.
That quickly became 18-0 on the re-start before Haven at last showed signs of rallying. George Hill and Jake Carter got over for tries and with both converted by Josh Rourke it was a six-point game.
But if it looked as though the momentum was with Haven, the tide turned again and two tries in the final quarter for the Thunder, both converted, carried them to only their third win in 18 Championship games.
The next few days are going to be critical for Whitehaven as they attempt to find a way out of the mess they are in at present. It won’t be easy.
