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WELCOME TO BLACKPOOL: Time for Hornets to kick arse beside the seaside.
(Photograph: Dougie Wallace from 'Stags, Hens and Bunnies: A Blackpool Story')
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It's apt that the Summer Bash at Blackpool comes at the mid-point of the season, because this year's game agains fellow cellar dwellers Swinton provides the point around which our season could tip one of two ways.
Win and we could leapfrog Barrow, off the bottom of the competition (assuming the Raiders lose in Blackpool to Sheffield) and within points difference of Swinton, over whom we have a game in hand (admittedly, it is a points difference of 136!).
Lose and Swinton head off into the middle distance on 6 points, leaving Hornets looking for three more wins than the Lions in the back half of the season to overhaul them.
It is - literally - a pivotal game.
If last month's meltdown at Heywood Road was this season's nadir, Saturday at Bloomfield Road provides an opportunity for redemption and renewed optimism.
The remainder of the Championship season has effectively been boiled down to a three-way shoot-out involving Hornets, Swinton and Barrow. The aim? Finish top of this triumvirate of underachievement. A task made even more interesting by the trip to Barrow the week after Blackpool. Indeed, if you needed further proof of the importance of the next two weeks, Swinton's only two wins of this campaign came against Hornets - and at Barrow.
Everyone will know by now that Hornets v Swinton has been bumped back to a 3.30 kick off so that the weekend can open with a game that no-one's really interested in (T'onto v TOXIIIC) and which should guarantee an empty stadium for the cameras.
The new kick-off time means that Hornets' game now clashes with Catalan v Wigan at the Nou Camp in Barcelona. It also means that, in order to accommodate Dragons v The Pies, our game has been moved from Sky's mainstream sports channels, now hidden away behind the red-button. Those of you hoping to record our game will have to set your boxes for the replay at 10pm on Sky Sports Arena. I'm glad they've told us that now - because that would have been a very tricky sell to sponsors six months ago.
Swinton prepare for Saturday's game with a raft of injuries. Forwards Will Hope, Ben Austin and Jamie Acton have been joined by Lewis Hatton who has had surgery on a finger injury and will be out for six weeks. Swinton's depleted pack will feature former Hornets Gavin Bennion and Billy Brickhill. Michael Ratu is unlikely to play.
Hornets come into this game needing a win like oxygen - and the performance against York last weekend shows clear signs of improvement. Indeed, we reckon it's the closest we've got to York for quite a while, given their formidable bogey-team status. The inclusion of the four recent acquisitions looked pretty seamless and the spine of the team looked pretty solid (we like Ben Moores at Loose forward as he poses a running threat).
So we travel in hope, at least. Saturday gives the whole club a chance to regain some equilibrium after a challenging first half of the season. It's certainly a great opportunity for the fans to get together, make some noise and enjoy the event.
If you're still considering your options for Saturday, we urge you to get over to Bloomfield Road - even if it's just for our game. Tickets are still available from the club office - and everyone Hornets sells helps offset the costs incurred in participating in the Summer Bash.
So do yourself and the club a favour: get over to Blackpool and bring your singing voice. 'Kiss-me-quick' hats are optional. See you there.
