It's two weeks since we played, and five weeks since our last home game, so the run of home fixtures at the end of the season will be most welcome.

Before we set foot on Brinkburn again we have two difficult away trips across the M62. Second place Rossendale are first up with fifth placed Lymm next week - some points will defintely be needed if we want to stay in the comfort zone and push on for a top four finish.

Anth Carr and Michael Taylor are both unavailable for the trip. The ever improving Ross Wood continues his run in the team with Ben Lloyd coming into the second row alongside Chocky allowing Tom Dixon to drop into the back row at No 8.

It's a big pack, by our standards, and on the heavy and sloping Marl Pits pitch it promises to be a forwards battle.

Rossendale have a handy set of experienced forwards led by the experienced former Sedgley Park coach Tim Fourie. In No 8 Paddy Pole they also have one of the leading try scorers in the league. The Kiwi was missing from the side which lost 18-17 at Brinkburn at the start of the season [they admitted to not knowing where he actually was] but his return has coincided with an excellent run.

Dale have lost ground recently with defeats at Beverley and Mowden Park. As a result they're 14 points behind the leaders and realsiticaly will be challenging for the play-off place - unless Mowden disintegrate.

West: Stu Waites, Scott Butcher, Andrew Cheslin, Gav Robinson, Greg Edwards, Gareth Foreman, Andrew Foreman, Ross Wood, Liam Bailey, Adam Coates, Andrew Davies, Ben Lloyd,  Dan Boatman [capt], Jon Boatman, Tom Dixon. Reps: Michael Hogan, Andrew Dixon, Colin Cheslin.