WHARFEDALE go into their derby game against Harrogate at The Avenue tomorrow (2.30) fervently hoping that the size of the challenge will produce another inspired performance of the sort that Orrell and Plymouth were able to generate, (writes Tony Simpson).

The evidence of last weekend's match against lowly Waterloo was that the Greens are not able to deliver their very best simply at will; that pride in performance and a desire to produce quality is not sufficient motivation

Having hit the heights against Plymouth and to a lesser extent Orrell, the Greens have proved what they are capable of. In doing so, they leave themselves exposed to severe criticism when they fail to deliver against lesser opposition.

"I firmly believe that motivation is the key to concentration and that it is a failure to concentrate which causes the kind of mistakes we were making against Waterloo," says coach Peter Hartley.

"Michael (Harrison) and myself targeted the game as one we really wanted to win and where we wanted to be really focused, but it didn't happen. We simply didn't take it on board.

"Sometimes tiredness is to blame for concentration wavering, but we were lacking concentration from the first minute to the 80th. We only managed to really think about what we were doing in the last five minutes when we closed the game down and stopped them from playing. We did that well, but it should not have taken us until then to see what was required."

"The arrival of the men from Claro Road, especially on a day when there are no international counter-attractions, is guaranteed to produce a top-class atmosphere at The Avenue and while they recently saw a winning run ended at home to Sedgley Park, the visitors carry sufficient stature to ensure a lively challenge.

There was a time when Harrogate lacked the real bite to subdue the Greens, but things have been changing of late - as a 51-point tally earlier in the season at Claro Road confirms.

At the moment Harrogate are as balanced a side as they have been for some seasons, with a pack that is strong enough to test the Wharfedale eight to the full and enough invention behind to pose problems.

Wharfedale, of course, are no strangers to being tested by heftier packs and at their best, they can compete effectively in all areas. But they definitely need to be on their game tomorrow to avoid conceding a double.

The Wharfedale line-up shows a couple of changes to last week. Hooker John Lawn is back in the front-row after a weekend off and he is joined by Neil Dickinson, who gets a starts this week ahead of Craig Ingram at prop.

Those are the only forward changes, while in the backs, the only adjustment is on the wing. Wharfedale start with the back division that finished the game against Waterloo, with George Smithson keeping his wing place after taking over from Carl Burnett.

Burnett has been an ever-present this term, but with Gareth Johnston settling seamlessly into a wing berth, Smithson gets the nod on the other flank.

Wharfedale: J Davies; G Johnston, D Whitfield, A Hodgson, G Smithson; A Baggett, D Harrison; P Peel, J Lawn, N Dickinson, D Lister, A Capstick, P Evans, H Verity, S Allen.

Replacements: C Ingram, G Hindle, R Buckroyd, C Burnett.

Wharfedale Under 12s will be providing a curtain raiser to the match against their Harrogate counterparts, pitch conditions permitting.