Riley: Interesting Game
(photo courtesy of swpix.com)
Winger Chris Riley reflects on recent results, his season so far and tells us about needing to regain some of that confidence ahead of the team's trip to Salford tomorrow night.
"It's disappointing - we don't want to lose games and we haven't been too happy with the way we've performed over the start of the season. We've got a lot of injuries as well on the back of that but we will try and put things right - we've sat down, had a good chat this week, worked hard in training and hopefully we can lay a platform against Salford this Friday.
"It's early doors and only the start of the season but we want to correct things and get back that consistency that we've performed with over the last couple of years."
Salford have had a mixed start both on and off the pitch but Chris highlights their threats across the park.
"From the games I've seen Martin Gleeson's a massive player for them and he looks like he's getting back to some form. There's also Darrell Griffin who's a big forward and the young lad Marc Sneyd looks pretty dangerous - he's got some fast feet on him and he's been causing a bit of havoc for some of the teams they've played this year so far and is one to watch. Jodie Broughton on the wing is lightning fast too and Joel's going to have to get his skates on this weekend."
Former Warrington and Salford player Alan Hunte is currently at the helm of the City Reds and Chris believes he can make a difference to the side.
"I know Alan pretty well as he coached us when I was a young lad in the Lancashire teams. He knows the sport and played Rugby League for a long time and he can give that experience to the players. He's well known round Salford and will have a lot of respect over there. Hopefully he can give them that confidence they need. It was a great result they got at the weekend against Wakefield - they got the one point and were unlucky not to get the two. They'll take a lot of confidence from that into the game on the weekend, also we're a bit down from the results over the last couple of weeks so it should be an interesting game. If we can build on some of the things we've been doing in training though I'm sure we'll be alright."
Chris is renowned for his try-scoring ability making his mark at the top end of the try-scoring table last season. His partnership on the wing with centre Ryan Atkins has paid dividends over the last few seasons.
"Last season was great for me, probably my best in the primrose and blue jersey. I've had a bit of a slow start this year as has the team but it's just one of those cycles. Over the last couple of weeks, however, I feel I've been getting nearer to my best with my attacking and I can only get better. Hopefully I can get a few more tries as I'm disappointed to only be on three at the moment. I'm a winger so am a bit greedy, I want to score tries all the time (laughs). But the main aim is for us to play well and get the results, and hopefully I can get a few tries on the back of that."
Away from the Wolves, Chris' eyes are also on the International scene come the end of the year.
"Having a taste of it with England Knights at the end of last year was good. We went to Scotland and Ireland, and it was a fantastic time to spend away with the lads. It's given me that bit of hunger to go on to represent my country in a full cap. To miss out last year was pretty disappointing but if I can perform well for Warrington and get to near my best hopefully I can give a selection headache towards the end of this year. All I can do is play well for Warrington, there's a long way to go and if I can stay injury free I'll hopefully be there or there about at the end of the year."
Salford City Reds v Warrington Wolves, Friday 15th March, 8pm, Salford City Stadium. Tickets are on sale in WolfWare, at WolfWare Online and on 08448 11 11 76 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm)
14, Mar, 2013
