The thaw followed by some rain has raised a question mark as to how heavy the pitch will be and Seabourne will delay his selection until he has checked 'the going.'

The Maroons should be choosing from strength. Sean Burke, who has been unlucky with an injury to his ribs followed by a leg problem this time, is fit again and Will Nutbean has made a complete recovery from the gash in his leg. Both have trained flat out of late and are available.

It will be Morley's first match for six weeks while Stockport have had the advantage of having been able to play last weekend.

They beat a weakened Middlesbrough side 24-8 at home and picked up a bonus point to go level with the Maroons at the top of the table, although Morley have a superior points difference.

Maroons' coach Peter Seabourne was at the game after his side's fixture at Rossendale was called off as early as Friday morning and said he felt Stockport had not played particularly well but had done what they needed to do against a side hit by injuries.

Their win sets things up nicely for Saturday and Morley will be keen to make a flying start to prepare themselves for what is sure to be a fierce challenge.

Seabourne said: "I'm really looking forward to the game, we've had another good week's training and it's been like having a mini pre-season.

"We trained indoors last Tuesday, went swimming last Thursday and also went on one of the back fields for a lengthy training session on Saturday.

"That work-out went like a dream, the players looked very sharp and nobody dropped a ball for 25 minutes. It all built us up nicely for some good outside preparation this week.

"I shall have a good look at the pitch before naming the team. It will probably be heavy but if it has dried out, I might change things a bit. At least with substitutes, we have scope to make changes anyway.

"Everything has got to click into place, if we get a good start the pressure will be off and we can settle into the form and style we showed in winning all those games in a row.

"We expect to resume where we left off at the end of last year on an excellent winning run and you have to remember Stockport have now played a game more than us.

"The league is still in our hands but if we can win on Saturday it will be a massive lift and we can kick on from there."

Stockport's match was one of just two played last weekend and the other was also significant.

Fourth-placed Sheffield Tigers missed a good chance to keep in touch with the top two clubs when they were surprisingly beaten 13-0 at bottom club West Hartlepool.