Tupaea calls for cool Rangers heads

SHANE Tupaea believes his Saddleworth Rangers side will start picking up positive results — provided they can avoid the pitfalls which cost the club dear from a very promising position last week.

In the Kiwi’s first game in charge, Rangers led fourth-placed Milford Marlins 8-6 on their own turf at half-time in Division One of the National Conference League.

It was only after getting bogged down by a heavy penalty count against them that the contest started slipped the way of the West Yorkshire side, who ultimately won 24-8 to keep the Greenfield outfit second-bottom.

After his first game in charge, Tupaea says he liked the majority of what he saw.

And he hopes a healthy crowd will arrive to enjoy the game against Eccles at Shaw Hall Bank Road tomorrow (2.30pm kick-off), as he bids to install his own brand of attacking rugby league.

Tupaea hasn’t named an assistant yet and is being helped at the moment by Darren Connor and under-18s coach Steve Mawdsley — with chairman Shane Wilson even helping strap the players up beforehand.

“It is important that everyone mucks in,” added the former ‘A’ team coach at Watersheddings. “We are trying to build a club culture here.”

Ryan Moore (eye), Phil Wood, Gavin Dodd and Danny Attersall are expected to be back in contention for a place in the Rangers side.

WATERHEAD will have their work cut out to arrest the slide down Division One tomorrow, as they travel to face East Leeds (2.30pm).

OLDHAM St Anne’s aim to bounce back from last Friday night’s 46-30 defeat at Leigh East by seeing off Askam at Higginshaw Road (2.30pm).

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