Preston Grasshoppers vs. Huddersfield, 25th January 2020, 3pm
Preston Grasshoppers head for Yorkshire once again this coming Saturday for what may well be a defining game between themselves and Huddersfield who currently lie eleven points and two places above the visitors in the current league table.
Hoppers drawn game against Wharfedale last Saturday was the third of the season which equals previous seasonal records and in mentioning statistics, the league game at Lockwood Park will be Preston Grasshoppers 750th since it all began back on the 19th of September 1987 at Lightfoot Green with another drawn game. The inaugurial opponents were Roundhay, a North Leeds club which merged with Headingley in 1991 to form Leeds RUFC which in turn evolved into Leeds Carnegie now known as Yorkshire Carnegie who currently sit at the bottom of the Championship league and without a win so far this season.
After a four try to three win at Scunthorpe last week, Huddersfield will be boosted by their recent form which has seen them comprehensively defeat second placed Fylde in their last outing at Lockwood Park and lose narrowly at Park Lane against third place Sedgley Park the previous week.
The first meeting between Huddersfield and Hoppers in Preston was at the Lea ground on the 28th of March 1959 after Preston Grasshoppers had made the initial journey over the Pennines to play Huddersfield twelve months earlier at The Waterloo Ground, which is now occupied by a Morrisons Supermarket.
It turned out to be a narrow home victory which avenged the heavy defeat from their first meeting when Huddersfield ran out comprehensive victors.
The playing record between this week’s opponents sits in favour of Huddersfield by thirty four victories against twenty six to Hoppers with two matches ending all square and one being cancelled. Our visitors did the double over Hoppers last season and have now won ten league games to Hoppers seven.
There’s been a reoccurring sequence in meetings between the two sides over the last five seasons the two have met, each team taking it in turns to win both games per season. Let’s hope the sequence ends this Saturday!
There have been four other meeting between the two teams, all of which were pre-season practice games. The first three of these being played at Lockwood Park with the last at Lightfoot Green. Preston Grasshoppers won all three in Yorkshire whilst Huddersfield won the one in Preston.
The 1869 Club are running a coach to this game with the usual lunch stop and £20 fare. The departure time from Lightfoot Green will be 10:45.
Team News
1. Oga MABAYA
2. Chris TAYLOR
3. John BLANCHARD
4. Ally MURRAY
5. Adam HOWARD
6. Ryan CARLSON
7. Ben DORRINGTON
8. Sam WALLBANK
9. Jake SQUIRRELL
10. Tom DAVIDSON
11. Jacob BROWNE
12. Nick GREGSON
13. Sam STOTT
14. Jordan DORRINGTON
15. Scott JORDAN
16. O. TRIPPIER
17. D. MADDEN
18. T. HARRISON
19. A. HURST
20. J. GOUGH
