Hopefully the calmer weather this week will mean much firmer conditions at Moorend than last season when Morley were caught on a virtual swamp and lost 10-0. With the home club hosting a pre-match lunch for 250 there should also be a lively atmosphere.

The game is important for both teams. Second-placed Morley slipped a point further behind leaders Stockport, who collected a five-point victory last week compared to Morley's four. After a surge of two wins and a draw in three games, Cleckheaton lost ground in the relegation zone with defeat at Middlesbrough, while Rochdale just above them, picked up a bonus point win.

But there is a confidence at Moorend they are playing much better than in the first part of the season and they took great satisfaction from the last home game against Beverley two weeks ago when one of their scores was a pushover try, which delighted their captain and prop Paul Turner.

However, Morley's front row of Alan Benn, James Darbyshire and Paul Gabriel are in fine form and are a very settled unit. They again showed their quality as the pack dominated Chester in another good win last Saturday and the pity was that the Maroons could not turn their superiority into more points. It is something that has caused concern all season but on this occasion there was little doubt that the visitors came to shut up shop.

Morley coach Peter Seabourne said: "They came to stop us playing and achieved their aim. They had two men sin-binned and in the first half our players became very frustrated.

"We tried to calm them down at half-time and told them just to keep playing their rugby but there were occasions when we made breaks and the referee stopped play to give us a penalty. On one occasion Liam Frost was diving over the line when the referee blew.

"I was pleased with the win and we scored two good tries but it should have been five points rather than four. We could have executed things better when we started chasing the bonus point and the players also felt that after the game."

Seabourne accepts that Cleckheaton will pose a tough challenge, helped by the local nature of things but also their anxiety to get out of the bottom three. They were in a wretched run when they went down only 14-3 at Scatcherd Lane and since then have lifted spirits with their recent improvement when they have been able to select a full-strength side.

Seabourne remarked: "In matches like this it's all on the day. We know Cleckheaton will come hard at us and we have to combat that, they also have a stand-off who can kick well out of hand in Iain Gordon, who has plenty of experience around the league. But we have the talent to cope and if it is a dry day we should go very well."

Simon Bradshaw is against his former club and in menacing form with eight tries from his last five appearances.