WHARFEDALE'S head coach James Doherty is making no secret of the importance of Saturday's home match against Tynedale.

There are only two National League Two North fixtures being played this weekend –Preston Grasshoppers at home to Leicester Lions is the other –and Doherty said of their game in hand: "If we lose we stay in 13th and it is a chance gone, but if we get a bonus-point win we will go to 11th above Luctonians and Harrogate."

A four-point win would leave the relegation-threatened Greens level on points with Harrogate, but they would not overtake their North Yorkshire neighbours as they would only have seven wins compared to Gate's eight.

Tynedale defeated Wharfedale 35-10 in Corbridge in September in what Doherty admits was a disappointing performance against a club that have many of the same attributes and philosophies as the Dalesmen.

But Doherty added that the Greens are a different team since Christmas, gathering 11 points from six matches compared to 25 from 16 before that.

Their chief blip so far in 2017 came last Saturday in a 36-12 defeat at third-placed Lions, where yellow cards for Rob Baldwin, Josh Burridge and Scott Jordan (two) hampered the visitors' efforts after they led 12-10 early in the second half.

When asked if the defeat was down to their own ill-discipline or some unsympathetic refereeing from Jamie Leahy, Doherty said: "It was a bit of both.

"Rob's yellow card was for a high tackle when he was tracking back, and the RFU report says that there was no premeditation, but under the new interpretations it was fair enough.

"Josh's was for an accumulation of pressure, but both of Scott's, which were for deliberate knock-ons, were really harsh.

"His palms were facing upwards and the ball travelled forwards, and again there was no premeditation, but at least he has not been suspended as it was deemed sending-off sufficient."

In explaining how Wharfedale can go from winning 37-0 at home to Stourbridge the previous weekend to losing 36-12 at Leicester Lions, Doherty said of the Lions match: "There was not much difference in the first 45 to 50 minutes against the Lions but the sin-binnings meant that we played the rest of the match with either 14 or 13 players, and you cannot do that against a side of the quality of Tynedale."