Bradford & Bingley face West Hartlepool at Wagon Lane on Saturday as they seek to build on last weekend’s victory over Waterloo in National League Three North.

The Bees won 26-14 at Blundellsands to claim their sixth victory from their last seven games, lifting them to within three points of the second-place play-off spot.

Head coach Stuart Dixon said: “It’s a funny time of year at the moment for players and coaches as the weather has made it difficult to play games and train.

“So it was really pleasing, therefore, to go away last weekend and get the win.

“We are hoping to get a performance and a similar result this weekend.”

Dixon is expecting a stern test from West Hartlepool, adding: “I wasn’t up there for the last fixture against them as I was with the second team that day.

“But by all account they’re fairly abrasive and they’re going to be tough to break down.

“If they win or lose, they tend to have a lot of close games.”

Dixon said lock Richard Hughes and fly-half Steve Brimacombe will come back into contention after missing the Waterloo game due to family commitments.