Nobody at West would have wished for that but there are plenty of reasons to be cheerful at Brinkburn.
The arrival of the Foreman brothers will add much needed potency to the attack, while the pack which held its own against most in National Three is intact.
In fact, the return to fitness of back row Matt Holmes will strengthen the competition for places.
So will the effort put in by a number of the up and coming younger players who have been working on their fitness as a group throughout the summer.
Mercurial full back Scott Jordan has also committed himself to the club this season. Now he has left Durham School he is free to play every Saturday and will compensate for the loss of Gareth Kerr who has moved to Westoe.
Morley bring a squad of 25 and will be wanting a hard game to help their prereparation for life in National Two. Even with a number of players away on holiday they are likely to find a more competitive West than they did back in April.
FORWARDS:
J Boatman [capt], J Greenwell, L Bailey, C Young, J Rafferty, B Lloyd, M Hogan, A Coates, D Boatman, M Holmes, A Cameron, C Robinson, R Wood, A Davies, P Rudd.
BACKS: P Miller, N Howe, P Hodgson, J Connolly, C Cheslin, A Foreman, S Butcher, G Robinson G Foreman, Z Southern, D Thomas, A Larkin.