Penrith have the perfect opportunity to bounce back from last week’s spirited derby defeat to Kendal.
The Winters Park side have home advantage over Broughton Park who have started the new North One West season with three successive defeats.
Penrith had an uphill task ahead of the 34-27 defeat to Kendal as ten of the 23 players who had played in the first three games were unavailable.
Two promising teenagers Tom Knowles and Josh Winder joined the back row and were to the fore with their endeavour, non-stop running and tackling. Knowles helped himself to a couple of tries for good measure.
Kendal’s experienced forwards earned them the victory but the Winters Park men were delighted with the performance of their youngsters and the grit shown at 31-10 down when heads could easily have gone down. To come back and win those two points was a testament to their spirit.
Will the kids keep their places? Always a dilemma for the head coach, whatever the sport, but there must be a good chance of them being in the squad.
Broughton Park were beaten 32-26 at home by Vale of Lune last week and as a form guide Penrith have already beaten the Lancaster side away, 39-26.
There is another less favourable comparison. Broughton Park lost 27-13 at home to Stockport while Penrith lost at the league leaders 44-10.
In the first game of the season, Broughton Park had lost 24-17 at Birkenhead Park.
Stockport lead Kendal
At the moment Stockport lead Kendal by a point and of the two the table-toppers would seem to have the tougher test on Saturday. They host fourth in the table Glossop who have won two and drawn one of their three games so far.
Kendal travel to Firwood Waterloo and might have had a form guide to go on but a fortnight ago their hosts had to call-off their game with Carlisle because of Covid in the camp.
They returned to action last week with a 33-27 win at Altrincham Kersal and sit solidly mid-table. Their only defeat was at Glossop, 31-24 after opening the season with a 45-26 home win over Manchester.
What was obvious from Kendal’s win over Penrith was that there is a disciplinary weakness that needs ironed out fast. Too many cheap penalties were given away and there was simply no excuse for back chatting to the referee.
It’s the old adage, used in football and rugby for decades by experienced managers and coaches – “The referee is always right. When he’s wrong, he’s right.”
Kendal had picked up numerous injuries in their previous win against Vale of Lune but apart from Matt Houghton they were all passed fit to play. They will be hoping for similar good fortune ahead of the trip to Liverpool.
Carlisle snatched defeat from jaws of victory
Carlisle snatched defeat from the jaws of victory last week when they went down 27-23 at home to Wilmslow.
They are on the road tomorrow to Birkenhead Park who lost 16-10 at Glossop last week and after four games sit solidly mid-table with 75 points scored and 75 points conceded.
It was a real Jekyll and Hyde performance from Carlisle with opportunities to put the game to bed early on not taken, and Wilmslow exploiting that to good effect in the second-half.
Coach Matt Shields will have been looking at why they coughed up a lot of opportunities inside the Wilmslow 22, which allowed the visitors to clear their lines and take a breather when they should have been put to the sword.
At times they looked to be forcing the game, rather than building phases, and that got worse in the second half as the scoreline got tighter.
Cumbrian derby in prospect
In North Two West there’s a Cumbrian derby in prospect as St. Benedict’s host Cockermouth with both sides looking to recover from heavy defeats last week.
Cockermouth were beaten 40-0 at home by league leaders Anselmians while a much under-strength Benny’s were put to the sword at Orrell by 73-0.
The pair only have De La Salle and Bolton below them in the table but St. Benedict’s do have a win to their name, beating the bottom side 30-15 two weeks ago.
Injuries and unavailabilities have damaged both side’s prospects so far but there are signs that things are improving.
Meanwhile Keswick, after two weeks sidelined, have a tough assignment to reintroduce them to league rugby as they must travel to Leigh.
They lie second in the table but suffered their first defeat of the season on Saturday, going under 26-22 at Warrington, where Keswick have already won 25-19.
Aspatria looking for second win
After a bright start to life in Durham/Northumberland One, Aspatria have rather stuttered since and are currently still looking for their second win following three straight defeats.
On Saturday they visit South Shields Westoe who are nine points better off and have won three out of four, winning 25-14 at Ponteland last week. Their one defeat was at Hartlepool Rovers 31-24.
Aspatria lost 29-12 to impressive league leaders Northern at Bower Park last week.
On the day Aspatria just had to accept that they were beaten by a better team. The frustration for home supporters and the team is the knowledge that the Black Reds have the individuals to mount a serious challenge in this league.
What galvanises this talent into a winning performance is what coach Mike Scott will have been searching for this week.