Coach Richard Knight’s side suffered the hammer blow of a 25-18 home defeat to second-placed Blackbrook the last time out and are now down to fourth in the table with four defeats from their opening 10 games.

They should still prove too strong for York side Heworth this weekend, however, as their hosts are second bottom with two wins from 11.

But if they get off to the same sluggish start as they did against Blackbrook, the contest could prove far from straightforward.

By the early stages of the second half of the Blackbrook clash, Bank’s challenge had virtually ended as they found themselves 24-6 down, with a try from Sam Rochford and Luke Pogson goal their only first-half reward.

They did rally after falling 18 points behind with further tries from Australian duo Matt Adam and Nick Briggs, and two more Pogson goals, but it was never going to be enough.