Pearce praises fitness for Harrogate win

Gary Pearce praised his side’s fitness for coming from behind to beat Harrogate 27-23.
All summer long, the players have been working on their fitness with conditioner Cal Donohoe who put them through their paces.
Pearce noticed his players were still prepared to go the extra mile in the final quarter as their opponents began to flag.
But Pearce highlighted one area he wasn’t happy with in the first half at Harrogate.
“It was a great win but we struggled to keep hold of the ball in the first half,” Pearce said.
“We got on the wrong side of the referee with regard to the penalty count.
“As a result, we only got into their half and scored both times with two really well worked tries.
“They took a lead into half-time but after 10 minutes of the second half, we finally started to play and kept hold of the ball.
“We started to look dangerous while the only way they looked like scoring was from a catch and drive.
“Our defence was magnificent again and they never looked like breaking our defensive line.
“As the game was coming to a close, our fitness was starting to tell.
“Their forwards looked tired and once we got in front, there was only going to be one winner.
“The win sets up Saturday’s game against Lymm perfectly.
“They have started really well winning all four of their games.
“A win would give us a great start to the season after playing three teams I think will be battling it out at the top of the table come the end of the season.”