Hunslet: Disastrous finish has made tough decisions easier says Thornton

Hunslet lost their last three games in Betfred League One including a 14-4 upset at Coventry Bears three days ago.

That shattered their hopes of a place in the play-offs and Thornton admitted it will impact on which players remain at the club next year.

“One or two players we were 50-50 about, it has made our minds up,” he said.

“There will be a refreshing of the squad and we have a couple of irons in the fire which we are working on now.

“Some players have had an opportunity to prove themselves and have let themselves down.

“It [the end to the season] will definitely affect my thinking for next year and we will be having those conversations this week.”

Thornton admitted it was a mistake to try to get through a season with only two specialist half-backs and that is a priority as he looks to recruit.

“It is something we are addressing,” he added.

“We need another pivot to create competition for places.

“In some ways the way we’ve finished has made some of the decisions easier because there were some 50-50s and now we know where we are going with them.”

Hunslet travelled to Coventry hoping for a big win to keep their play-off hopes alive, but the defeat left them seventh in the final table, two places adrift of the semi-finals.

Thornton reflected: “It has been a disappointing last few weeks. We have struggled with injuries, we didn’t have any half-backs on Saturday and no creativity.

“We couldn’t finish our sets well and we came up against an enthusiastic Coventry outfit.

“They have improved a lot, but we still should have had enough to beat them. I was really disappointed with the way we approached the game and the attitude of some of the players and we got what we deserved.”

Thornton is awaiting confirmation of the start date for the 2019 campaign before finalising pre-season plans, but said he expects training to resume at the end of November.