Otley secretary Marc Lawrence has warned his team of the necessity to compete for 80 minutes on a regular basis.

Having witnessed their 40-22 defeat last Saturday at Darlington Mowden Park in SSE National League Two North, he said: “There is no question about our fitness as our players were still going strong at the end while some of the Darlington players were out on their feet.

“And we scored 17 points late in the game but we seem to be chasing matches too often because of what we do in the first 60 minutes. The opposition seem to be hungrier than us then.”

On Saturday, Otley are at home to Sheffield Tigers, and Lawrence said: “It might mean more to them as it is a Yorkshire derby but we just want to win the game.”

Lawrence also paid tribute to prop Adam Blades, who has featured in 100 straight league clashes for Otley.

“I think it is 99 starts and one appearance on the replace-ments’ bench after a trip to Dubai but it is some achievement and I have a lot of respect for Adam. He is a model professional.”