Anthony Murray has called for positivity from his North Wales Crusaders players ahead of Sunday's Division One clash with Whitehaven.

A blunder by match referee Andy Sweet cost the Cru a vital point against Hunslet last weekend, as the Castleford official allowed a failed drop-goal to stand for the Yorkshire side.

Crusaders players and staff were left bewildered by the decision that gifted their rivals a 19-18 victory, but coach Murray insists the result should not detract from his side's impressive display.

He said: "That's the danger really, that we forget how well we did in that game against a strong Hunslet team that had won six games on the bounce.

"For most of the game we matched them and there really was nothing to separate the two teams, so that has to be a big positive for us.

"Okay, the decision to award Hunslet a point for that late drop goal has affected the result and is something something we might have to live with now.

"But I think we need to look at areas of our own game too though, because if we'd made better use of the ball in attacking areas then we could have put ourselves well ahead in the game.

"Some sharper decision-making in terms of picking a better pass might have made all the difference for us, so that's an area we can address."

Murray's side have the chance to recover some ground in their pursuit of a play-off place this weekend against seventh-placed Whitehaven.

The Cumbrians have recovered admirably from a financial crisis that threatened to engulf the club and come into the game buoyed by two successive league wins.

The Cru emerged with a superb 25-22 win in May's reverse fixture with tries from Gavin Conroy, Ryan Smith, Kenny Baker clinching victory.

Now Murray is calling for a repeat performance on Sunday to banish recent disappointments.

He said: "The most important that is that we stay positive and that we make sure we pick the lads up for this game.

"The away game was one of our best performances of the season so far, no doubt about it.

"I've got a lot of respect for the way Whitehaven have come through a lot of financial uncertainty and overcome that adversity to remain strong in this division.

"They'll be coming here full of confidence and will be out for revenge, so we need to be ready for another massive challenge.

"From our own point of view, i'd like to see us making improvements week on week.

"We played strongly against London a fortnight ago and there were glimpses of it against Hunslet.

"Hopefully we can sustain those improvements over 80 minutes on Sunday and bounce back with another win."

The Crusaders have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the clash with prop Warren Thompson a possible starter after a try-scoring appearance from the bench last weekend.

League One fixtures start this evening when leaders Bradford host Newcastle, while Coventry visit London tomorrow.

Sunday's clashes see Hemel host Keighley, basement side West Wales Raiders head to Oldham, Workington host Hunslet while Doncaster go to York.