IT MAY have only been a pre-season friendly, but The Avenue bore witness last Saturday to one of those days when a Goliath was defeated.

"It was one of those special Wharfedale days for the whole club where the opposition turned up fully expecting to beat us and we gave an outstanding performance,", admitted Greens' head coach Jon Feeley as Rotherham Titans were defeated 17-12 via a stoppage-time try and conversion.

"It was an intense match but the most pleasing thing was that the players listened to what the coaching staff had told them and carried out the game-plan. It was a perfect end to pre-season.

"Rotherham scored a try in the first minute but didn't look like breaking our line otherwise, and another pleasing thing is how much we have grown as a squad since the first day of pre-season training at the end of June."

Tries came from Richard Rhodes, Matty Houghton and Joe Altham, with the final conversion coming from Rory Macnab, but Feeley added: "Our defence was outstanding because they were a stone a man heavier throughout but we tackled them not only bravely but intelligently, and credit there also goes to defence coach Jon Skurr.

"Also our line-out was accurate, and that gave us a platform, and there was also good communication between the hooker and the second rows, with credit there going to specialist line-out coach Ben Sowrey."

In addition, there is nothing like growing your own, and Feeley added: "We had six of the seven backs against Blaydon having come through our ranks, and the same against Rotherham.

"Will Bell got injured early on against Rotherham so we had Durham University's Will Edwards – son of former Wakefield player and Leeds coach Diccon – moving from 12 to 10, and we had 17-year-old Madison Hunting finishing in the back row."

All these factors have given Wharfedale heart before their National League Two North opener at 2017-18 Midlands Premier runners-up Peterborough Lions on Saturday.

Feeley said: "They won 31-22 at North Premier runners-up Hull in the play-offs last season, we know their coach and we have done our research on them.

"They have a big pack and some pacy backs with a South Seas influence."