THERE is little doubt what Wharfedale have been concentrating on in training this week– tackling.

Despite a very positive start in which they led 14-0 after 17 minutes, the Greens were sadly lacking in defence during their 29-19 home defeat against Sheffield Tigers – their 100th different league opponent – in National League Two North last Saturday.

And, after a pre-season that seemed to lift the gloom and doom when relegation ended their 20-year stay in National League One, Wharfedale are in danger of suffering a second successive demotion.

With a quarter of the campaign gone in the fourth tier, the Greens have only won two of their seven league matches and sit third from bottom in the highest of the three relegation places.

Wharfedale coach Hedley Verity, who was without head coach James Doherty due to school duties, admitted after watching Tigers' Peter Swatkins and colleagues make hay: "We have got to stop backing up mistakes with more mistakes and we have got to make our first-up tackles.

"We started off brightly but you have to back that up, and our inconsistency over 80 minutes has beaten us.

"But our first-up tackling was the most disappointing thing and we gave them three or four tries. We will address slipping off tackles in training."

Wharfedale tried mightily to rescue a losing bonus point or a four-try bonus point, or both, and deserve some sympathy as they got little from referee Michael Harris over the closing 25 minutes.

He disallowed a George Hedgley try for a forward pass from Will Bell, and also gave Wharfedale a penalty deep in Tigers' 22 and then seemed to take it away from them without warning.

However, Verity said: "I am not going to go down the route of blaming the referee."

He added: "We hope to have Joe Altham and Adam Howard back very soon but we will be without Robbie Davidson, Tom Davidson and Tom Asejevs on Saturday at Stourbridge."

The trio are representing Latvia in their Rugby Europe Championship Conference One North clash against Luxembourg in Jelgeva on Saturday, with the Davidsons qualifying via their grandfather Helmuts Francmanis.

Wharfedale will be boosted by the return of stand off Tom Barrett after injury.

Jamie Guy switches to centre to replace Tom Davidson while Josh Prell comes back on the wing to allow Scott Jordan to take Robbie Davidson’s place at full back.

Joe Altham is fit again and returns at prop for Asejevs

Wharfedale: Jordan; Prell, H Bullough, Guy, Wellock; Barrett, Lawn; Altham, Larkin, Huck, Allen, Hedgley, Baldwin (capt), Wilson, Burridge, Replacements: Stockdale, Close, Ward, Hodgson.