Squad - Goodman, Whittaker, Twentyman, Dodds, Stewart, Burgess, Fearon, Littlefair, Selkirk, Duncan R, Wilkes, Nash, Busby, Bass, Parkinson, Ball, Bird J, Melrose.

League debuts for Daniel Whittaker, Alastair Burgess, Martin Fearon, Christian Selkirk and Rory Duncan. The amount of changes will install Consett as favourites despite Novos having won four out of the last five games between the sides. Daniel plays hooker and is an ex RGS student who punches above his weight. He is incredible mobile and works incredibly hard in general play. Alastair and Martin were due to make their debuts last week but were unable to do so. The club is very lucky to have gained the services of players of their ability. The two flankers will add aggression to our pack and hopefully make it tougher for opponents to break us down the middle. Christian and Rory link up as a new 9 and 10 combination. They have both looked comfortable in training and capable of stepping up to the challenge. Both players distribute well so it is a perfect duo to play Consett on the artificial pitch opposite their clubhouse.

Unavailability seems common place now as club members are forced to work Saturdays to provide for families, take holidays during the rugby season and the Great North Run is on leading so players are not keen to risk injury the day before their charity run.

Hopefully, the club will turn the corner in the coming weeks as we see the return of some injured players. In addition, the club is hoping to bring in some new recruits to fill the gap of our local lads heading off to uni.

Saturday is a big game against two sides that have had several close matches in the past few seasons. I am sure the artificial pitch will suit both sides and the best side on the day will win. No reason why that can not be us.

Changes give opportunity for players on Saturday to claim