Marc Shackley will be back in the firing line on Sunday when Whitehaven bid to get their Eights campaign on track against Newcastle Thunder.

The strong-running prop forward was an absentee at the weekend when Haven lost their long unbeaten record against local rivals Barrow.

And afterwards, player-coach Carl Forster admitted that Shackley could have played against the Raiders, who were 15-2 winners at the Recreation Ground.

“Marc had made good progress with the calf injury he picked up in the first match against Barrow two weeks earlier, and at a push, could have played. But we felt with such a tough programme ahead, it would be better to give him another week to make sure his recovery was 100 per cent complete,” said Forster.

So Shackley, a key figure for Haven so far this season, will be extra keen to get out against Newcastle on Sunday.

It will be the second trip of the year to the Recreation Ground for the north-east side who are also looking to bounce back from a disappointing defeat.

They faded in the second half against Workington last weekend and two points would help them close in on the play-off positions, which are currently two points away.

The teams have met twice already in 2017, having played each other at Kingston Park Stadium in pre-season and at the Recreation Ground in May.

The head-to-head for the year between the two sits at one apiece, with Thunder taking the pre-season spoils 46-16 win, while Whitehaven sealed the league points 34-20.

Averaging 31 points a match in the phase one games, Whitehaven’s attacking ability has been backed up by a reasonably tight defensive effort, conceding an average of just 15 points per game.

After beginning the season with 2pm kick offs, Whitehaven will continue in the Eights by starting an hour later at 3pm.