Consett though, had other ideas and despite the fact that Stockton led 16-8 five minutes into the second half, they were never anywhere near their best, and in the end came away with what they deserved, nothing.
The first half was something of a nonentity, with three Danny Phin penalties against a try and a penalty to Consett giving the visitors a 9-8 half time lead.
Stockton started the second half well as Joel simpson, making a welcome return, made a characteristic interception from a wayward pass and raced sixty metres unopposed for a converted try.
Despite this, Stockton were always a poor second at the scrummage and within ten minutes the worst fears of those on the touchline were realised when two quick converted tries gave Consett a 22-16 lead.
Worse was to come. On sixty minutes young prop Dean Goldsborough was involved in an incident that saw him stretchered off with a suspected broken ankle (more about that later).
The reds re-shuffled, but almost immediately Consett scored another try and the game finished at 29-16 to the home side, which was a deserved win.
Stockton's main problems came from the scrum. You can't attack when your scrum is going backwards at a good rate of knots, and following last weeks performance it is hard to put a finger on why things went wrong.
A few things both on and off the field have troubled me this season. The Dean Goldsborough injury came after he was lifted in the air, dropped to the floor, and then landed on by a Consett player, almost WWF style. Both myself and the coaches were of the opinion that if you were lifted in the air it was the lifters responsibility to put you down again. I would be grateful if anyone could confirm this or otherwise.
John Coates