Whitehaven face back-to-back fixtures at Goole Vikings, with a Championship game on Sunday followed next week with an 1895 Cup tie.
It’s a long trek to make in successive weeks and is the first time that Whitehaven have played the Vikings.
Interim coach James Newton and his assistant Neil Frazer have been concentrating on defence, and more resilience on their own line, after shipping too many soft tries in the last two games.
Newton said: “Goole have some good, experienced individual players who can cause problems but the main thing for us is to concentrate on ourselves and improve our defence.”
The Haven squad has been depleted over the last 10 days with the loss of four players who have left the club – Rio McQuiston, Jordan Thomson, Aaron Turnbull and Joe Lowe.
“We still have a good squad and hope to add to it in the next fortnight as we have been talking about bringing in players,” he said.
As for Goole they are a point better off than Whitehaven with two wins to their credit and lie 16th in the Championship two places higher than their visitors.
On loan forward Ewan Smith, 20, has joined recently from Warrington while former Hull FC forward Nick Staveley returns to the squad.
- Whitehaven squad: Bickerdike, Blinkhorn, Brennan, Brown, Holgate, Holliday, Kellett, Newbegin, Nixon, B Pearce, J Pearce, Polec, Shackley, Smith, Todd, Eccleston, Walker-Taylor, Walker, Weatherill, Williamson, Woodend.
- Goole squad: Aldous, Arnold, Barley, Bullock, Craig, Hodgson, Holden, Holstock, Ferries, Halliday, Guzdek, Harman, Howlett, Jubb, Miller, Rutland, Shaw, Smith, Staveley, Tomlinson, Tuohey.
