WELCOME It gives me great pleasure to welcome our neighbours Darlington back to Acklam Park, although in doing so I offer them some sympathy at their current plight. Having lost all nine league matches to date they prop up the table with three points – and although they are only three points behind Ponteland, Rovers are nine points ahead of them, giving them a tough target if they are to avoid relegation (or whatever the powers-that-be decide will be in place next season!). They opened their campaign by conceding 50 plus points at Novos and have conceded a similar total in each of their last four matches against Acklam, Durham Consett and Horden; worse still, they shipped 97 points at Stockton. I hope their season improves, but not until they meet Rovers next week!

LEAGUE RUGBY Last week we faced a potential banana skin – an eagerly awaited really local derby played after torrential rain fell all night and morning. However the Acklam pitch wasn't too bad at all. Those of you couldn;t get to the game did not miss a classic. When Liam pounced on a loose ball to feed Mike and then Toby to set up a try for Andy after only three minutes our level of expectation quickly rose. But how wrong we were; the rest of the half was a score-free error-strewn scrap with Acklam missing two penalties before dominating possession after the break with the wind at their backs. But they created only one clear chance before kicking a penalty, only for us to respond quickly through an attack started by Mike and finished by Rhys. We did almost score another try or two but with ten minutes left Acklam kicked another penalty. We did finish the stronger and Simon landed a late penalty to make it 6-13. Close though the score was – and we were the lowest scoring winning team of the week – at least we did win, whereas unbeaten leaders Durham City came a cropper and lost at home to Consett. The three of us at the top are now separated by a mere two points, with Novos breathing down our necks three points adrift.

Our last home match was against Gateshead, who came here with an unblemished home record, and having given league leaders Durham City a huge fright at Hollow Drift - they were leading 10-25 going into the last ten minutes, only to concede three tries, two conversions and a penalty to lose 32-25. So they were no mugs. However, despite losing Rhys and Mike to yellow cards we eased to a 43-3 win, with a dominant pack winning scrums against the head (how often do you see that nowadays) we ran in three tries before the break to lead 17-3 and a further four in the second half.

Looking ahead we face some tough matches before Christmas. Next week we go to Consett who are only one point behind us but have by far the best points difference in the league. We then entertain fifth placed Horden before consecutive away games at league leaders Durham City and then the first of our return fixtures, at Medicals, a side against whom we struggled just a little bit here in September. Come the Christmas/New Year break we'll certainly have a good idea where we stand in the scheme of things.

OTHER MATCHES I am pleased to report that last weekend produced a clean sweep of victories throughout the Club. The Wasps continued on their winning ways beating Stockton 19-18 in a game where enjoyment and friendliness were the order of the day – read Jonno's match report on p9 and you see it was a bit of a carousel with players regularly changing sides. It was their seventh win in eight outings, having beaten Bishop Auckland 29-14 the week previous.

Congratulations to the 'A' team, who finally got to play their North Yorkshire Trophy match at Skipton last week and returned victorious to the tune of 24-17. Unfortunately their endeavours earned them another trip away, to play Harrogate Pirates.

JUNIORS On Sunday we earned a full house of victories for those teams who played, making it an outstanding weekend of results. To celebrate the 1st XV's league success at Acklam, the U16s and U14s also beat our near neighbours from Talbot Park. The U16s won 17-0 to chalk up their fourth win in seven games, whilst the U14s, who have lost only twice all season, won 29-5, to follow their 53-5 win against Yarm and a 19-all draw against Westoe. At the same time our U15s were beating Guisborough 48-5 to maintain an impressive record have lost only one of their last five matches (and only three of the ten games played this season). And a word of cheer – and encouragement – for our U13s. Having found the transition from midi to junior rugby just a little difficult two weeks ago they achieved their first win of the season, 17-10 at Redcar. Well done all round!

The only disappointment last weekend was the need to cancel the U10s Festival to be held here. Sarah had invested an enormous amount of time in arranging the event, but in the end the rain and the mud won the day.

CLUB NEWS Please note that our next home game is not now our Yorkshire Shield match against Keighley. Originally scheduled for two weeks hence, it is likely to be played next year on 6 February; this is because Keighley's league match last week fell foul of the wet weather and the rearranged league game will take precedence over our cup tie.

And so we are next at home the following week, 5 December, when we entertain Horden. This will be a double celebration. As our last home match before Christmas we will serve Ian and Linda's renowned Christmas lunch before the game and then after the match there will be a presentation to mark Peter Wright's 300th game for the 1st team. I hope you will join with us to celebrate both occasions.

And there are more celebrations to follow! Our 7th Annual Pie-baking Competition will take place on 15 December (it is always a wonderful night, with lots of lovely pies to sample whilst raising money for charity/the Juniors) and then the visit of Father Christmas to lead our Entertaining Carol Sing-a-long two nights later on 17 December. The Members Grand Christmas Draw will take place on 20 December and we round off the month with the Annual Ball at the Thistle Hotel on 27 December before seeing in the New Year on 31 December (see Simon Moore for Ball tickets, but you'd better make it quick).

And a huge thank you to everyone who helped to make our Fireworks Display yet another fantastic and enjoyable success. I was worried about the weather as the rain streamed down at 5 o'clock, but fortunately it stopped before the Westys launched the first rocket at 6.30.

SPONSORS I am pleased to welcome new sponsors today, the Henderson Insurance Broking Group. 2016 will mark the Group's 30th year in business and it is now one of the UK’s top six leading independent insurance brokers operating from 14 offices across the UK, bridging the gap between small local brokers and large multinational corporations. Team members forge strong relationships with leading insurance companies – combined with direct access to the important Lloyd’s of London market – to secure the best deals available. Their Stockton office, opened in September 2009, is located at 33 George Stephenson Court, Westland Way, Preston Farm Industrial Estate. The team of 38 staff has been developed to ensure a professional, efficient service is delivered by experienced and qualified staff, led by Managing Directors Emma Simkins and Jonathan Willett. They also advertise in the programme – see p16.

REFEREE'S CORNER It gives me great pleasure to welcome George Shield back to Acklam Park. He was in charge when we played Doncaster Phoenix last season and then again for our opening game this season against Medicals. Originally from Corbridge but now living in Redcar, George played for Tynedale before joining the Army. He was a hooker but was injured whilst playing rugby in the Army and so turned his hand to refereeing. He was a member of the East Midlands Society for 20 years before joining North Yorkshire three years ago. If you disagree with any of his decisions today please do so quietly and with good humour – remember we do need referees! George is now a Safety Adviser Engineer.