NORTH WALES CRUSADERS captain Kenny Baker has urged his side to find their ruthless streak and to turn performances into points this season.

Baker, who has impressed since joining the Wrexham side in 2016 and was named as the club’s player of the season last term, has been a key figure for Anthony Murray’s men this year.

But with his side currently ninth in the division after six defeats in eight outings, the powerful forward believes the Cru have missed opportunities to challenge higher up the table.

He said: “I think the season so far hasn’t gone as well as it could have done.

“We need to start backing up our good performances by being more consistent and stringing more wins together, which we are capable of doing.

“Me and the boys know we can do better and we will keep working hard to improve every week.

“We need to start killing games off when we’re in control of them. There have been quite a few games this year we’ve lost by one or two points and we have been in control for most of those games.

“We need to start taking our opportunities better so we won’t be in that position to lose the game. It’s about being smarter too, because we’ve been giving them away in the wrong areas of the field and inviting pressure on ourselves when it should be the opposition under pressure.”

Since joining Crusaders from the amateur game, Baker has racked up 63 appearances and dotted down for 27 tries in that period.

Handed the captaincy at the start of the season, the Cru hooker is relishing his leadership role and has drawn on the knowledge of experienced clubmate and former England international Stephen Wild.

Asked about his own displays this season, Baker said: “Personally, I’m pretty happy with my performances this season so far. I’m working hard on and off the pitch to be the best I can be and hopefully it shows.

“All the boys have shown me their full respect since being appointed captain, which always helps.

“I’m learning a lot from Ste Wilde, who has all the experience you could hope for in a team mate because he’s been at the very top of the sport.

“He’s always giving me tips and sets a good example on and off the pitch. I’d say this is the strongest league I have played in so far.

“The so-called ‘lesser’ teams have improved dramatically, which has shown this year already with a few surprise results. Anybody can beat anybody on the day, which creates an exciting competition for all of the neutrals out there.”