Workington Town must show they are a different side to the one which lost back-to-back games against this weekend's opponents Newcastle Thunder at the start of the year, believes director of rugby Les Ashe.

Town suffered narrow defeats against Thunder in the Challenge Cup and on the opening day of the League 1 season but Ashe wants the team to prove they have grown as a group by causing an upset at the third time of asking as they kick-off the Super 8s at Kingston Park on Sunday.

"We played them back-to-back at the start of the year and lost both games narrowly so we are well aware of the dangers they pose," he said.

"They have put a fantastic run of results together since Jason Payne took over as head coach so they will probably start the game as favourites.

"Our intention in the Super 8s is to be as competitive as we can.

"We have been in and around these sides for almost half a year.

"As a new squad that started with loads of new faces in comparison to last season, it was going to take a bit of time to bed in.

"We hope that by now everybody is used to each other and the training is pretty upbeat.

"Our record says we have only taken one point from fixtures against these sides so our improvement has got to be there."

Ashe is hoping for a top five finish in the 8s which would put Town into the play-off semi-finals and believes that is a realistic aim for the club's talented squad.

"Our targets are pretty different to the other teams in the top eight in terms of us wanting to improve on the results against these sides throughout the year," he said.

"If we have to have a main target it is probably trying to get into the top five.

"While it is a big ask, it is not out of the realms of what this squad are capable of.

"From a board perspective it would be nice to think we can sneak in then anything can happen in the semi-finals."