Block 12 Backcheck

Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1. Not bad.

With the first month of the season done and dusted, Blackburn Hawks have achieved a 'not bad' rating. That's good then? Or not bad? Anyway...

Hawks first three fixtures were at home and hopes were high we'd get off to a flying start, but Billingham Stars rolled into town and shot that idea down in flames with a 4-3 win.

Poor finishing and inspired netminding combined to set us off on the wrong foot and mutterings about 'here we go again' could be heard in the stands. Perhaps a couple of pre-season games wouldn't have gone amiss?

Newly promoted Solihull Barons were next up and were duly despatched 7-1 with the performance and finishing much sharper.

Highlights of the evening were Rick Hughes' hat-trick (at last) and Tom King's scrap (right) with Martin O'Brien. It's safe to say King ruled the tussle (don't you just love a good cliche?).

Sheffield Spartans, who always seem to give us a game, completed the homestand and though Hawks scraped a 4-2 win we were far from convincing.

Not bad indeed.

Probably a better measure of how the season will pan out will come from the road trips to Trafford Metros and Whitley Warriors.

The squad does seem stronger than last time - the loss of top scorer Dave Meikle is a blow - but there's more strength on 'D' and new forward Jordan Bannon looks an exciting prospect.

It's also good to see the Aaron Davies (left), Sam Dunford and Matt Viney line re-united once again.

If there's one area which may be a problem it's the lack of an out-and-out goalscorer.

Meikle regularly weighed in with a decent tally, while it's fair to say former Hawk Rick Bentham would be welcomed back by many. Having said that, despite grabbing the winner for Invicta Dynamos against Wightlink Raiders, our old friend also managed to get ejected from a heavy defeat to Chelmsford Chieftains so perhaps the learning process still has a way to go...

Latvian import Elvis Veldze trained with the Hawks but couldn't agree terms - apparently he'd mistaken the new management committee for a bottomless cash pit. Strangely he then pitched up with ENL2 new-boys Fylde Flyers - maybe Sheikh Hamdam Bin Loaded is a benefactor?

With Solway Sharks also boasting some expensive (allegedly) firepower in Adam Reynolds and Nathan Salem, some clubs in ENL2 may need to invest in a few extra bulbs for their scoreboards.

But up in ENL1 land things are not bad so far - could this be the year the Hawks finally fulfil their potential? Here's hoping...