Hot Stew is top gun for Thunder
Last updated 11:40, Thursday, 26 June 2008
TRY-SCORING sensation Stewart Sanderson has the National League’s deadliest finishers in his sights – in his first full season as a professional RL player.
The ex-Wath Brow Hornets winger is NL2 pacesetters Gateshead Thunder’s joint leading try-scorer with 18 this term, which puts him in the running for the accolade of the top finisher outside Super League.
He trails Halifax’s Shad Royston and Paul White of Salford by only two tries, which is remarkable given that he scored one in seven appearances last season for Thunder, when they trailed in 11th in the league.
But just as the Tyneside outfit have confounded the critics with a much-improved effort this term, the West Cumbrian has also stepped up to the mark. And he is confident that Gateshead can last the pace in League Two.
“We have talked about it in training, and considering how we did last year, which was quite disappointing, a lot of people wrote us off this year,” said Sanderson, from Moor Row.
“But we always had belief in ourselves. I don’t think anyone expected us to go this well, and we have exceeded our expectations.
“We are all mates and have a laugh, but we get down to the serious stuff when we need to.
“Hopefully we’ll get promoted, if not by finishing top, through the play-offs. We are top at the moment and going well.
“If we keep going, I don’t see any reason why we can’t move up in to the First Division. It would be another big step and we’d probably still be underdogs. If we make it we’ll have to dig deep to compete.”
The former Middlesbrough student is still based in the town, making it easy to travel to training.
Yet while Thunder’s results have shown a huge improvement, the club is still struggling to attract new fans, with only 331 seeing their 28-12 weekend home win over Swinton.
“We are doing a lot of promotion for Gateshead Thunder and go to the Metro Centre every few weeks,” he added. “Hopefully if we keep winning, more people will get interested and come through the gates.”
Sanderson featured for Wath Brow early in the last amateur season before re-signing for Gateshead, and remains close to the club.
“I’ve played at the Brow since I was 10 years old and they will always be in my heart,” he said. “It’s where I started playing and probably where I’ll finish.”
