SWINDON Storm will aim to cap off a run of four consecutive fixtures by gaining revenge on the only team to beat them so far – Bournemouth Bobcats – says defensive coordinator Rich Westley.
Storm have opened up their season with three contrasting results – firstly, blowing Hastings Conquerors away 64-0, then being heavily beaten 51-0 by the Bobcats before righting those wrongs with a 28-3 comeback win at home to Jurassic Coast Raptors.
Opponents Bournemouth are 2-2 for the season, defeating the Raptors and Storm, but losing twice to the strongest team in the division, London Blitz B.
The Bobcats have not played since the return leg in Dorset two weeks ago whereas Swindon are set to play their fourth game in four weeks.
Westley says arguments can be made either way as to whether consecutive games are a good or a bad thing, but knows one thing – Storm are out looking for some payback.
He said: “This will be the end of our four-week stint, we’ve had four games in a row – it’s the first time we’ve ever done that.
“We’ve got Bournemouth again, so it’s all about getting revenge on them for the last game.
“In terms of the reaction we were able to get, it was quite useful having consecutive games.
“In terms of normal circumstances, it’s better to have at least a week off in between games, so we can get the guys into the classroom, do some review of the previous game as well as looking ahead to the upcoming game.”
Westley believes the erratic sequence of results is down to insufficient time in the classroom between games as well as the significant number of new recruits Storm have picked up during the off season.
The defensive coordinator believes time on the field has helped his guys understand what they might be likely to face, and previous mistakes are being gradually reduced to make his team more competitive.
He said: “Last weekend proved on both sides of the ball, little mistakes that were causing penalties were reduced massively and then all of the hard work that the players had been doing wasn’t undone because of a loss of concentration which resulted in a loss of yards through a penalty.
“And again on defence, when all 11 guys were clicking, the same was happening for us.
“And on offence, we weren’t focused on just a couple of guys making the yards, every single player on offence who got the ball made yards.
“If all of that clicks again this weekend, then it means we have a much better chance of competing, because we become less predictable for a team to read.”
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