With the Ampthill defence scattered, Reece Tomlinson touches down for Hoppers second try last week.
Preston Grasshoppers vs. Sedgley Park – Kick Off 2.30pm
Team News
Garth Dew names almost the same side that pushed league leaders Ampthill to the wire last week.
Injury to Alex Zavallis-Roebuck means Lewis Allen moves in off the wing to steer the ship from fly-half. The prolific Scott Jordan is available and comes in out wide.
The pack is unchanged and will be hoping to stamp their authority on the game from the start.
1. Dan Madden, 2. Phil Mills, 3. Rich Morton, 4. Jack Banks, 5. Reece Tomlinson, 6. Ally Murray, 7. Andy Napier, 8. Chris Taylor, 9. Sam Kindred, 10. Lewis Allen, 11. Phil Baines (C), 12. Billy Woof, 13. Sam Russell, 14. Scott Jordan, 15. Mark Murray
Replacements: 16. Brad Tuff, 17. Oga Mabaya, 18. Will Lees, 19. Harrison Moulding, 20. Harry Reddick
Preview
Hoppers face another tough assignment this week when they take on the Whitefield near Manchester side of Sedgley Park, or Tigers as they like to be named these days, and will be hoping to emulate ‘The Seconds’ success against the same club last Saturday.
The home side will be looking to carry on from where they left off last Saturday at ‘top-of-the-table’ Ampthill where they literally came within a whisker of lowering the home side’s colours on their own patch for the first time this season. A losing bonus point was small reward for what was a very determined all round showing.
Garth Dew will be reminding his squad of players how close they came to victory against his old club at Park Lane early in the season when only a last minute converted try snatched what would have been a well deserved win away for Hoppers. If they can bring last Saturday’s performance to Lightfoot Green on Saturday afternoon, a much needed victory can be achieved which will help lift them away from the bottom end of the table.
Encounters with our hosts from Greater Manchester commenced just about ten years after our move from Lea to Fulwood with an away game and victory by twelve points to six. Sedgley had stepped into a vacant Easter Saturday fixture date on the 2nd of April 1983 after Blackburn had pulled out and the event started a short run of fixtures for just three years all of which were won by Hoppers.
The next time the two clubs met was in the first ever League fixture which was played at Park Lane back in 1997 when Hoppers continued their winning ways with a narrow twenty points to sixteen victory. Hoppers went on to complete the double that season and it wasn’t until we played a Lancashire Cup tie at Lightfoot Green during the 2000/2001 season that ‘Park achieved a victory over Preston Grasshoppers something that was repeated in league form at the double during the following season when Hoppers were relegated from National 1. Sedgley Park however remained at Level 3 and apart from a number of Lancashire Cup ties and a pre-season fixture during 2011, the two teams hadn’t met in league action until last season. The playing record between Hoppers and Sedgley Park shows the current standing to be in Preston Grasshoppers favour.
The three Club games back in the 1980’s were all won by Hoppers and league wins stand in favour of Preston by five to three whilst Lancashire Cup clashes are also in Hoppers favour by four to three. The pre-season game played at Lightfoot Green back in 2011 turned out to be a comprehensive victory for the visitors. So there have been eighteen games in all between the two clubs, Hoppers winning twelve to Sedgley Park’s eight.
Photograph courtesy of Colin Walker
