The challenge for the West side is to keep their unbeaten home record intact, but it will be no easy matter against an experienced Cleck side who have lost only once all season.
They have a lively set of backs and a points machine in goalkicker Ross Hayden. However, it is their mature pack which has taken them to the top of the league
The catch and drive is their speciality with skipper Richard Piper a particularly prolific scorer from close range. He managed two tries in the first game when Cleck triumphed 29-17 after tremendous early West pressure in the home 22 resulted in a try for Peter Youll. They controlled the middle part of the game, before we game back with tries from Adam Coates and Andy Turner, and looked to have a losing bonus point in our grasp until a late penalty from Hayden.
Saturday's weather could prove to be a major factor in the game with gales forecast after more heavy rain. The pitch has been well looked after in recent weeks and is in good nick although it will undoubtedly take some hammer when these two sets of forwards do battle.
Cleck are clearly showing the benefit of playing together for a number of years including having five Pipers in their squad. We are not short of family connections, despite having Colin Cheslin missing, with the Boatmans in particularly fine form.
Their ability to take advantage of some patchy work at the base of the Driffield scrum was a main factor in our win at Kelleythorpe - and a source of exasperation to some of the less knowledgeable home supporters.
It is worth noting that, as befits an excellent club, Driff have taken immediate action against the chap in the pink sweater who threw the contents of his pint from the clubhouse balcony at the end of the game. He had the good grace to apologise profusely, once he'd gotten over his long lunch, and will now have a three week touchline ban as the club wants to send out a message to all its members and supporters.
It is also worth reporting that the match sponsor is Stuart Spence. It is exactly ten years since "Spence" first turned up at a training night having never played rugby before. He doesn't deny rumours that he thought he was heading for Old Boys, where Dave Stubbs was the then coach, but he stuck around at Brinkburn and, as well as doing his bit for the Bucks and Ams when called upon, has also become the club's fount of all rugby statistics.
He has actually made one first team appearance when he came on for the last ten minutes of a tour game at Sitges near Barcelona. No sooner had he got on than a simmering feud with the home club's Argentinian forwards resulted in a melee under the posts involving 29 players. Spence wisely stayed wide out on his wing.
He is not the usual kind of match sponsor but insists he wants to put something back as his involvement with the club and the game has "given him so much."
West: Luke Mallinson, Scott Butcher, Andrew Cheslin, Liam Bailey, Peter Youll, Stu Waites, Ryan Painter, Ian Pinchen, Andrew Rollins, Adam Coates , Owen Bennett, Michael Hogan, Dan Boatman [c], Jon Boatman, Sam Miller.
Changes: Davy Tighe, Andrew Turner, Andrew Dixon
Cleckheaton: Ross Hayden, James Wilson, James Marshall, Matt Piper, Martin Woodhead; Michael Piper, Jack Bickerdike; Paul Turner, Ben Thrower, Chris Piper, Ryan Piercy, Grant Turton, Rob Afoa Peterson, Richard Piper, Ollie Akroyd.
Changes: Andy Piper, Alex Dawson, Ollie Depledge.