SUNDAY was a brilliant day for me -- first we had a superb result against Sheffield Eagles, and later in the day Leeds United won at Valley Parade.

The victory over the Eagles was a very professional performance from the entire squad. Preventing them scoring any tries was a great achievement and it has set up up nicely for Sunday's game in Cumbria.

I expected Sheffield to come and try and slow the game down -- and that is exactly what they did. In the first half they were allowed to get away with it, but after the break we cut loose and scored some quality tries.

One of the major differences this year is that our pack is stronger and we are able to out muscle more teams in an area that can win you games. If the pack win their battle then 99 times out of a hundred you will win the game.

THE mood in the camp has been very positive this week as we have prepared for the long trip to Whitehaven. There are no easy games in Cumbria, teams from that region often don't travel well, but they are always difficult to beat on their own meadow.

The club has found some extra money to enable us to travel up on Saturday and prepare professionally for the game. We'll then be able to have a good session up there prior to the game and the camp atmosphere will help the players to bond even closer together -- which is always good for team morale.

The only player who might not be on the bus is Martin Wood. His wife is expecting a baby any day and he's naturally worried about leaving her on her own. I've agreed to let Woody travel up on Sunday morning if the stork doesn't deliver in time.

I WAS delighted with my visit to Valley Parade, and the result. I'm a Leeds season ticket holder, but KN Sport's Rugby League correspondent is a City fanatic.

My mobile rang at half time, and it was Keith Reeves ringing from the kop end to complain about our goal.

Sorry Reevsie you got it wrong -- the best team won.

He added that he thought Neville Southall was bigger than me, and suggested I sign him to add a bit of weight to the Cougar pack!

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.