AFTER defeating Hull Ionians on a "day to remember" last Saturday, Wharfedale will travel to Lancashire this weekend to take on the Preston Grasshoppers.

"It was one of those days that you'll always remember," said Wharfedale coach John Feeley. "It was a fantastic occasion, as the Wharfedale under-10s played the curtain-raiser against Ripon, and hopefully our victory will have inspired those youngsters."

Feeley was pleased with the Greens' mindset and their approach to the game, which saw them defeat the league leaders 24-12 at the Avenue.

"We had a clarity with which we approached each part of the game," said Feeley. "We didn't let any circumstances or the conditions put us off course.

"Even after going down to 14 men, and later 13 men, we were unfazed and made good decisions.

"We showed a great strength of mind," he said, adding: "At no point did I feel the game was getting away from us. We always felt in control.

"The key area of the game was the line-out," said Feeley. "We controlled our ball and reacted correctly to the referee's interpretation of the line-out, especially the driven line-out.

"Our scrum was also superb," he added. "All our tries scored from close range were driven over."

After Matt Houghton was red carded and sent off for match official abuse, Feeley said the "seven in the pack had to make an impact and work harder".

He praised the play of one of the backs, man of the match Ben Blackwell, who Feeley said "played as an eighth man in the pack".

"Ben has a high skill and is quick," said Feeley. "He effectively won the battle against Lewis Minikin, Yorkshire's starting number 13."

Going into this Saturday's game at Lightfoot Green Lane, Wharfedale will be facing a Preston Grasshoppers team who comfortably beat Otley 25-10 at the weekend.

"Preston are a physical team all over the pitch and they have a strong running game, "said Feeley. "They have a few new recruits since we beat them at the Avenue earlier in the season.

"They play on a 4G plastic pitch, so it will be quite a transition from the heavy pitches we're used to playing on. We have to adapt to that this weekend.

"It will be an interesting game this weekend, but if we're clinical in defence and keep improving our attack it's irrelevant who we play."

For this Saturday's match, James Tyson, Joe Altham and Chris Walker will all be facing fitness tests and Houghton will be waiting to hear from the the league if there will be a ban for his red card.

The game at Preston kicks off at 2.30pm on Saturday.