Preston Grasshoppers must beat the teams around them in table
Two sides which have won three out of seven games this season meet up at Lightfoot Green tomorrow when Preston Grasshoppers host Wharfedale.
The Dalesmen have two more bonus points so occupy seventh place in National League Two North, one above Hoppers, who have had a tough start to the campaign, playing four of the current top five already.
Head coach Dan Orwin said: “I have told the lads we have got to beat the teams around us in the table” – so that starts with Wharfedale.
“We kicked the ball away too much last week at Tynedale and struggled to get field position. But we had our opportunities and the long delay for Rob Willetts’ injury didn’t help in the second half.”
There are changes in the pack tomorrow, with Ben Corless and Ged Boylan the starting props and Dec Norrington in the back row. Experienced front rower Danny Maher is on the bench.
Wharfedale did the double last season, winning 40-14 at home and 19-15 away after coming back from 5-15 at half-time.
Following their victory over Hoppers last week, Tynedale head for Fylde with a tally of six wins out of seven. That puts them fourth, four points and one place above Fylde, who have five victories, a draw and one defeat.
Honours were even last season, with Tynedale winning 45-22 at home but losing 19-27 at the Woodlands.
Back up to third place in Regional Two NorthWest, Vale of Lune host Burnage in what is a “double header”, acting as a Lancashire Cup second-round tie as well as a league game.
Mike Bradshaw starts at prop this week and Damon Hall is at full-back.
Vale now have four victories and two defeats, while the visitors, four points behind them in seventh, have a game in hand after the postponement of their clash with Douglas. They have won three out of five.
Burnage lost 39-54 at Powderhouse Lane last season and the clubs fought out a 19-19 draw in the reverse fixture.
Teams: Hoppers: Freeman; Browne, Glover, Russell, Williams; Keohane, Singleton; Corless, Holden, Boylan, Naylor, E Causey, Norrington, Longson, Castle. Replacements: Parkinson, D Maher, Richardson, Haigh, J Murray.
Vale: Hall; Leighton, Mayall, Bolton, Macfarlane; Finan, Swarbrick; Fowler, Dokter, Bradshaw, Fellows, Sutcliffe, J Wallbank, Ayrton, Abdelghafar. Replacements: Busby, Oyston, Gledhill.