Check out the previews and predictions ahead of this weekends action.
NATIONAL THREE NORTH
Blaydon v Darlington Mowden Park
Fourth place Blaydon welcome Darlington Mowden Park to Crow Trees this Saturday looking to extend their winning run.
Blaydon have won their last two matches both have been on the road with a narrow win at Cleckheaton and a 48-10 triumph at Leicester Lions last week after losing three of their previous four matches to drop behind the leaders in the table.
At home this season they have won six out of seven matches with only second placed Bradford & Bingley leaving with a victory.
DMP are at the wrong end of the Form Guide with just one win in their last six matches and are facing a fourth consecutive defeat. They have only played five times on the road so far this season and managed to pick up a couple of wins, both in the North East, at Darlington and Tynedale.
Earlier in the season when they met at Mowden Park it was Blaydon who came away with a 15-6 victory.
PREDICTION: Home success by 12 points or more.
Bradford & Bingley v Macclesfield
Second placed Bradford & Bingley will be looking to return to winning ways this week with the visit of 10th placed Macclesfield to Wagon Lane.
Bradford & Bingley were soundly beaten last week at Fylde as their Championship aspirations took a severe blow as they fell six points behind leaders Nuneaton.
At Wagon Lane they are defending an unbeaten record in the league this season winning all six matches to date.
Macclesfield after winning three out of four have slipped to successive defeats in recent weeks and face an uphill battle against a Bees side eager to get their promotion roll back on track. They do not have a good away record this season managing just one win in seven when they won 40-3 at bottom of the table Kendal.
Macclesfield shocked the Bees when they met earlier in the season and ran out 25-3 winners.
PREDICTION: Bees to win at home by 10 points.
Cleckheaton v Fylde
Third bottom Cleckheaton are at home on Saturday to 8th placed Fylde with both sides showing some improved form of late.
Cleckheaton have won two of their last three and the defeat was a narrow on at the hands of fourth placed Blaydon at Moorend. At home this season they managed to pick up three wins in their eight matches and start as slight favourites.
A win for Cleckheaton could see them move out of the bottom three with Darlington Mowden Park having a tough match at Blaydon.
Fylde were comfortable winners over second placed Bradford & Bingley last Saturday at Woodlands and are looking to make it three wins in four matches as they climb the National Three North league table.
On the road this season they have a poor record with just the one win to date a 27-8 win at second bottom New Brighton.
When the sides met at Woodlands earlier in the season it was the Lancashire side with home advantage who came out comfortable winners 26-3.
PREDICTION: Got to go with Cleckheaton this week – to win by five in what is a tough call.
Darlington v Nuneaton
Leaders Nuneaton travel to the North East for the first time this season to face free scoring Darlington at Blackwell Meadows.
Darlington are looking for a third consecutive win after finding form again after suffering a three match losing run. At Blackwell Meadows this season they have an excellent record with six wins out of seven with only local rivals Mowden Park leaving with a victory.
Nuneaton remain the only unbeaten side in the league and are six points clear now from second placed Bradford & Bingley after last weekends results.
They have only played six times away from home so far winning five and getting a 13 all draw at Lightfoot Green when they met Preston Grasshoppers.
When the sides met at Liberty Way earlier in the season the Nuns ran out comfortable 41-10 winners.
PREDICTION: Tough game for Nuneaton, but tip them to come through with five point victory.
Hull Ionians v Leicester Lions
Seventh placed Hull Ionians, on of the Form sides in the table, entertain ninth placed Leicester Lions on Saturday looking to maintain their good recent run.
Ionians saw their five match winning run come to an end last Saturday after they were beaten by league leaders Nuneaton but they did enough to leave Liberty Way with a losing bonus point, only the second side to do that this season.
At home they have a good record with five wins from seven matches with only the top two leaving with victories this season.
The Lions are on a slump at present after their excellent start to the season and are facing a fifth consecutive league defeat.
On the road this season they have already picked up three wins in seven matches with wins at Cleckheaton, Kendal and Macclesfield.
Leicester Lions were winners at Westleigh Park when the sides met earlier in the season 24-17.
PREDICTION: Ionians to triumph in this one by nine points.
Preston Grasshoppers v New Brighton
Third placed Preston Grasshoppers play host to second bottom New Brighton at Lightfoot Green this Saturday.
Hoppers have won four of their last five and are in third spot three points behind Bradford & Bingley and four ahead of fourth placed Blaydon although they have played two more games than them both.
At home they have won five out of seven with Nuneaton leaving with a share of the spoils and Bradford & Bingley giving them a good beating 55-34.
New Brighton have managed just two wins in 15 matches and are 18 points from safety but with the leagues likely to be reorganised it might not matter at the end of the season. On the road they have failed to register a win losing all eight matches and managing just one bonus point when losing 20-15 at Darlington.
When the sides met at New Brighton earlier in the season Preston inflicted their biggest defeat of the season on them coming away with a 68-7 victory.
PREDICTION: Hoppers to triumph by 15 points.
Tynedale v Kendal
Sixth placed Tynedale take on bottom of the table Kendal at Tynedale Park with the home side looking to maintain their excellent recent form.
Tynedale are one of the form sides in the division with five wins in their last six matches and are just two points behind the two sides directly above them in the table, fellow North East sides Darlington and Blaydon.
At home this season they have a good record although they have only had six home fixtures. They have won five but came unstuck against North East rivals Darlington Mowden Park going down 16-14.
Kendal are staring at a 15th consecutive defeat as they look to over come an away record which has seen them lose all seven matches on the road where they have conceded over 30 points in five of them. The best they have done is getting within 10 points of New Brighton going don 17-7.
When the sides met at Mint Bridge earlier in the season Tynedale were 23-15 winners but Kendal failed by a point to collect their first point of the season.
PREDICTION: Home win by 15 points. |
