In the end we went down 29-10, but can take heart from the fact we were in the game for most of the 80 minutes. And the four 18 year-olds who made their league debuts can look back on the start of their careers with some satisfaction.
We were first on the scoresheet with a 30-metre penalty from player coach Stu Waites, but the lead didn't last long.
Experienced fly half Mark Chester was quickest to react when Ryan Painter was penalised for offside - his quick tap penalty from five metres saw him go over to set up an easy conversion for himself
The rest of the half was an arm wrestle, with West gaining a fair share of set piece possession only for smart defence from the home backs nullifying the threat
All too often we were forced to channel attacks through kicks, which almost unerringly seemed to find a willing Morley runner to return the ball with interest.
We did have the opportunity to go in at half time in the lead, but the pass to Alex Barker after Painter had taken a quick tap in front of the posts couldn’t be held.
With debut loosehead prop Liam Pennick particularly effective, our success in the set-piece gave hope we could capitalise on the second half – going in at 7-3 behind.
However, our hopes were given a major blow straight from the restart.
Stu Waites’ kick went narrowly into touch and, from the scrum back, home No. 9 Richard Knowles chipped through the middle.
Full back Ollie Connolly and Stu Waites combined to bring him down - only to see the ball bounce ever so kindly for Morley full back George Kelly to go over under the posts.
Our response was to force our way into the home 22 and a big shove on the Morley scrum set up a penalty.
We opted for a scrum, but when the ball was fired right Peter Youll was unable to take it cleanly and the chance was lost.
The home side increased their lead with a penalty to put us two scores behind.
That lead was increased when a clearance kick from Connolly was taken by Morley No 8 Darrell Griffin. He made ground up the left before sending centre Harrison Bayliss clear of the wrongfooted West defence.
That was the cue for us to bring on all three replacements. The fresh legs helped force Morley back into defence with Chester receiving a yellow card for persistent infringement.
We made some decent inroads into the Morley defence with Painter sending Adam Brown on a strong run up the left. Unfortunately, Morley were able to clear as he was brought down.
Waites then timed a pass to perfection to send Chris Atkins striding up the same wing. This time the West support was there with Zac Southern taking the ball to go over from close range with Waites’ kick from out wide sailing between the posts.
One more converted score would have earned the visitors a deserved losing bonus point.
Instead, it was Morley who broke out to grab a bonus point for scoring their fourth try - second row Callum Rogers crashing over after another break from scrum half Richard Knowles.
A solid display in many respects, a very encouraging show from the debutants, and a bit of a lesson in how sides capitalise on mistakes as you move up a level.
Morley: George Kelly, Noah Hawkins, Harrison Bayliss, Andy Ellis (captain), Luke Baylis, Mark Chester, Richard Knowles, Billy White, Steve Graham, Greg Jones, Nick Green, Tom Richmond, Callum Rodgers, Bradley Freeman, Darrell Griffin.
Reps (all used): Sam Patterson, Alex Grace, Chris Norton
Tries: Chester, Kelly, Bayliss, Rogers,
Cons: Chester (3)
Pen. Chester.
Yellow: Chester
West: Ollie Connolly, Max Tennant, Zac Southern, Peter Youll, Lewis Scott, Stu Waites, Ryan Painter (captain), Adam Coates, Adam Brown, Liam Pennick, Jake Linighan, Michael Hogan, Alex Barker, Ethan Ledington, Chris Atkins.
Reps (all used): Luke Mallinson, Matthew Fleet, Aidan Jackson-Smith.
Tries: Southern.
Con: Waites
Pen. Waites
Referee: Andy Morton