North Wales Crusaders hooker Karl Ashall can’t wait to play in front of a bumper crowd at Stadiwm ZipWorld on Saturday as the regular 2021 season comes to a close.
With Crusaders’ play-off spot already confirmed, they’ll be looking to finish the campaign strongly and position themselves as high up in the table as possible.
As part of the club’s Community Day, entry for all supporters is completely free and a record crowd of the season is already on the cards.
Ashall said: “Our fanbase is fantastic and I’ve always been grateful to them for their support because they keep the club going.
“It’s a great call to let fans in for free and it’ll hopefully get the place rocking ahead of the play-offs.
“We might not get crowds like they do in Super League, but our fans are really loud and they’ve helped us a lot since they’ve been able to go to games.
“The new stadium speaks for itself as there’s nothing better than getting changed in a nice place, walking out on to a pitch in perfect condition and seeing the stand full.”
And Ashall believes the club are in a very good place on the back of a successful season so far.
He added: “It’ll be one of the best finishes we’ve had for years and it’s only what we deserve.
“I’m buzzing with how this year has gone for me personally and the team as a whole.
“I think we learned a couple of valuable lessons at the start of the season and it’s paid dividends.
“The Doncaster game really kickstarted our season and galvanised us as a team.
“It made us realise you can’t play that badly. You can’t do the things we did in that game and compete.
“We’ve improved our completion rates and cut down on penalties and, when you’re on top in those areas, you’ll compete and win games.
“We’ve really pulled together as a group and we’ve got a good balance of youth and experience.
“Some of the younger lads can play in a number of positions and it’s really helped. They’ve been outstanding for us.”
