Kyle Amor praises ‘heroes’ as 14-man Whitehaven win huge game

Whitehaven RLFC have had a turbulent week but they crowned it with a win despite having just 14 players available and that’s seen them labelled as “heroes” by newly-appointed head coach Kyle Amor.

Amor was tasked with a massive job after being appointed following the sudden resignation of Jonty Gorley and it’s fair to say he’s had a whirlwind first week in charge.

After being named as head coach, Amor found himself without a team or any playing staff by the time he had driven from his home up to Cumbria with the playing group threatening strike action following recent events at the club.

Many of these recent events stem from severe financial issues but some have remained unknown with previous head coach Jonty Gorley stepping down after last Sunday’s win citing an “untenable” situation.

It left Amor with a huge task to unite the playing group and get them out on the field and the ex-St Helens man was able to do so, albeit with just a 14-man playing squad.

That was still enough to secure an 18-10 win over Dewsbury Rams as Whitehaven gave themselves hope in the fight for survival.

Whitehaven upset the odds as Amor hails 14 “heroes”

The win actually means Whitehaven jump out of the bottom two and are no longer facing automatic relegation but with five games to go and just three points separating 10th from 13th, it’s all to play for.

Reacting after the impressive win as 3/1 underdogs, Whitehaven boss Amor labelled his players “heroes”.

Speaking post-match, he said: “What a game. I think you just nailed it there. Heroes, you know, I’m immensely proud of the group.

“It’s probably the last time that I’m going to mention about what’s been going on and changed. We knew what we were going to face here today. A committed, desperate, Dewsbury Rams side that had a lot of reasons to play for and not lose here today.”

Adding further praise on his playing group, Amor said: “I’m going to focus on our players. To do what they’ve done and to win with 14 in this competition, regardless of who you playing or whatever, is pretty bloody tough. That’s exactly what I asked for, I asked for tough men in a tough situation and we got it once again, didn’t we?

“There is no doubt, there can be no question marks over the commitment of this group. The challenge is we’ve got to go again next week against a very good York Knights team but for now we’ve just got to enjoy this win.

“We just had a backs-to-the-wall mentality. Dewsbury threw everything at us towards the end there, and the togetherness, the spirit, the toughness and the commitment from each other was top-notch, so absolutely delighted. ”

They’ll take on York Knights at home next week with the Knights knocking on the door of the Championship playoffs. Elsewhere in the Championship, Wakefield Trinity lifted the League Leaders Shield after beating Halifax Panthers 48-6.