Stan Townsend previews Sunday's LHF Healthplan National League Grand Finals day at the Halton Stadiu

That's how much he treasures the opportunity to lead his Cumbrian side into the higher echelon.

"I wouldn't hesitate at all. Whitehaven deserve to go up and I would be delighted to take them there,'' reflected McCormack on receipt of his second successive hold on the top coaching award at Leeds United FC on Tuesday night.

McCormack has already clinched Whitehaven's first ever piece of silverware, the League Championship Trophy, now he wants to go one better and erase the memory of last season's extra-time LHF League One Grand Final defeat by Leigh Centurions at the Halton Stadium, Widnes.

"Last season's extra-time defeat was a bitter disappointment. Tommy Martyn's experience proved too much on the day. But that's all in the past,'' reflected McCormack.

"This is going to be another tough call because Castleford are a top side, but we are picking from strength,'' revealed McCormack, who was relieved to have Aussie halfback Joel Penny ready for action following a calf injury scare.

"Joel is 100 per cent fit again and that's good news,'' said McCormack, who expects Penny to stamp his authority on the game with his rare talent for scoring tries.

With Paul O'Neill, Steve Kirkbride and Graham Mattinson the only additions to his 17-man squad, it suggests that McCormack will go with the side that knocked Castleford off their stride in the Qualifying Semi-Final two weeks ago.

"I think we will wait to see what the conditions are likely to be before naming the final 17. There are two other finals being played on the same ground before we take on Castleford and the pitch may well be very heavy.

"The onus is on Castleford now. They go into the Final under a lot of pressure because they expected to go straight back up into the Super League,'' he conceded.

The Tigers wait in the hope that forward Craig Huby will pass a late fitness test and win his inclusion in the side. Huby missed the semi-final game with Halifax after sustaining a damaged thumb, while Young Player of the Year Andy Kain and centre Michael Eager have niggling injuries.

Which puts coach David Woods on the back foot with less than five days to go to the Final.

"The stakes couldn't be higher than a place in Super League,'' admitted Woods, who does have the bonus of free-scoring winger Michael Shenton ruled fit again following a fractured cheekbone.

And Woods may well need Shenton's availability to cover for stand-in Damien Blanch, who took a high shot in the win over Halifax.

"We have a few injury doubts and Blanch is one of them, but we believe the team we field will be a strong one,'' said Woods.

Whitehaven will rely on the pack mobility of props David Fatialofa and Ryan Tandy to make the first incision, quickly followed by the ubiquitous skills of hooker Carl Sice, halfbacks Leroy Joe and Penny and the broad shouldered Aaron Lester.

They can also call on the wing pace of Craig Calvert and the goal-kicking accuracy of centre Mick Nanyn to inch them nearer their goal.

As for Castleford, the mercurial Brad Davis at halfback, coupled with go-ahead forward play from Frank and Adam Watene and the impish Andrew Henderson at scrum half will be difficult to subdue.

With honours even at two victories apiece this season, it really is 'winner takes all'.

LHF HEALTHPLAN NATIONAL LEAGUE ONE GRAND FINAL

WHITEHAVEN (1st) v CASTLEFORD TIGERS (2nd)

At Halton Stadium, Widnes - October 9 2005 (4.30 pm)

LEADING POSITIONS

P W D L F A Pts

1. Whitehaven 18 16 0 2 648 307 32

2. Castleford Tigers 18 15 0 3 683 368 30

3. Hull Kingston Rovers 18 13 0 5 589 389 26

4. Halifax 18 10 0 8 604 467 20

5. Doncaster Dragons 18 10 0 8 485 470 20

6. Rochdale Hornets 18 9 1 8 468 506 19

LAST TROPHY SUCCESS

CASTLEFORD TIGERS' last appearance in any final was this year when they lost 18-16 to Hull Kingston Rovers in the Northern Rail National League Cup Final at Blackpool.

Their last trophy success was in 1993-94 when they beat Wigan 33-2 in the Regal Trophy Final at Headingley.

WHITEHAVEN won their first ever trophy this year when they lifted the LHF Healthplan National League One Leaders shield. Their only appearance in any final was last year when they lost 32-16 to Leigh Centurions in the LHF Healthplan National League One Grand Final at Widnes. The match went into extra time when it finished 16-16 after 80 minutes.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS THIS SEASON

National League One

Castleford 42 v Whitehaven 24

Whitehaven 19 v Castleford 16

Northern Rail National League Cup Semi-final

Castleford 42 v Whitehaven 14

LHF Healthplan National League One Qualifying semi-final

Whitehaven 32 v Castleford 22

GRAND FINAL RESULTS

1998 Wakefield T. (1) 24 Featherstone R. (4) 22 At Huddersfield; 8,224

1999 Hunslet H. (2) 12 Dewsbury R. (1) 11 At Leeds; 5,783

2000 Dewsbury R. (1) 13 Leigh C. (4) 12 At Bury; 8,487

2001 Widnes V. (2) 24 Oldham (4) 14 At Rochdale; 8,974

2002 Huddersfield G. (1)38 Leigh C. (2) 16 At Widnes; 9,051

2003 Salford C.R. (1) 31 Leigh C. (2) 14 At Widnes; 9,186

2004 Leigh C. (1) 32 Whitehaven (2) 16* At Widnes; 11,005

* After extra time. 16-16 at end of normal time.

FINAL RECORDS

Most tries in a final: No player has scored more than two tries

Most goals in a final: 8 (Inc. 2 dg) by Neil Turley (Leigh C.) v Whitehaven ... 2004

Most points in a final: 18 (1t, 6g, 2dg) by Neil Turley (Leigh C.) v Whitehaven ... 2004

Most final appearances: 5 by Sean Richardson (Wakefield 1998 won); (Dewsbury 1999 lost, 2000 won); (Widnes 2001 won); Leigh (2003 lost)

Most final wins: 3 by Sean Richardson as above

*Statistics compiled by Ray Fletcher.

LHF National League One Qualifying Final

BATLEY BULLDOGS v DEWSBURY RAMS

BATLEY'S preparations to deny neighbours Dewsbury a place in LHF League One have been knocked off course by the sound of church bells.

Key player Neil Roden has been ruled out because he will be attending his sister's wedding, thus forcing Bulldogs coach Gary Thornton to make some hurried decisions on who the 'best man' will be to act as Roden's replacement.

"Obviously the wedding has taken pride of place with Neil, so we will have to accommodate for his loss,'' said Thornton, who will draft either Aiden Lister or Shad Royston, who has had the pot removed from his broken foot, into the squad.

"Shad is 50-50 at the moment, so Aiden looks the obvious choice,'' said Thornton.

But Thornton has ruled out the possibility that experienced prop Craig Wright will make a surprise return following his decision to come out of retirement.

"We can't risk it. Craig has lost his match fitness and that would be crucial in this game,'' he said.

With forwards David Rourke, Gary Shillabeer and Martin McCloughlin likely to take up three spots on the bench, Lister would seem to be the ideal cover for the backs.

Dewsbury could well receive a three-pronged boost ahead of the game if centre Chris Hall, ex-Leeds Rhinos scrum half Ryan Sheridan and back rower Alex Bretherton declare themselves fit.

All three missed the Rams less than convincing win over Workington, but coach Andy Kelly is confident they will rise to the occasion.

"We must control our emotions on the day and give a good account of ourselves. There is a lot at stake for us, while it's a do-or-die situation for Batley, who haven't hit the level of consistency they needed to be higher up in League One,'' said Kelly, who admitted there will be some difficult decisions made before the game.

"Obviously there will be some disappointed people because we can only name 17 on the day,'' he said.

With Dewsbury's vastly experienced winger Darren Rogers in need of three tries to complete his career double century and Batley's goal kicking expert Barry Eaton wanting three conversions for his season 100, there are some personal milestones waiting to be achieved.

Dewsbury's much-travelled goal kicker Francis Maloney, who has chalked up 90 conversions so far, could also have a big say in this clash that will leave one of the two teams extremely disappointed.

Batley have fought tooth and nail to retain LHF League One status and have been on the wrong end of some narrow score lines, while the Rams have produced some exciting LHF League Two victories to finish second to promoted York City Knights.

But have Dewsbury the capability to show they deserve to be in a higher division? Sunday's clash with Batley is the acid test!

LHF HEALTHPLAN NATIONAL LEAGUE ONE QUALIFYING FINAL

BATLEY BULLDOGS v DEWSBURY RAMS

At Halton Stadium, Widnes - October 9 2005 (2.05 pm)

Batley Bulldogs finished third off bottom of League One with the following record:

P W D L F A Pts

18 5 0 13 417 574 10

Dewsbury Rams finished second off the top of League Two with the following record:

P W D L F A Pts

18 13 1 4 526 350 27

PREVIOUS MEETINGS THIS SEASON

Northern Train National League Cup

Dewsbury 32 v Batley 22

Batley 12 v Dewsbury 10

League One Qualifying Series Semi-final

Batley 36 v Dewsbury 20

ROGERS AIMS FOR DOUBLE CENTURY

DARREN ROGERS of Dewsbury Rams needs three tries for a career double century of touchdowns. The winger has scored 56 tries in two spells with Dewsbury, 50 for Salford and 89 for Castleford plus two for England. He has totalled 363 appearances.

A former Stanley Rangers amateur, Rogers made his senior professional debut for Dewsbury in a 24-13 home League defeat of Keighley Cougars on 27 September 1992.

After three seasons he moved to Salford with a tribunal ordering them to pay Dewsbury £30,000 plus £5,000 after 15 matches. He made his Salford debut in a 45-4 home League victory over Widnes on 27 August 1995.

Castleford then signed him and he made a try scoring debut in a 36-22 Silk Cut Challenge Cup fourth round home defeat of Hull Sharks on 14 February 1999.

He went back to Dewsbury this season and made his return debut on 27 February when they lost 27-32 at home to Doncaster Dragons in a Northern Rail National League Cup match.

Rogers has played mostly on the wing plus occasionally at full back and centre.

Born: 6 May 1974

Try scoring record:

App. Tries

Dewsbury

1992-93 ... 27 19

1993-94 ... 18 10

1994-95 ... 16 6

Salford R.

1995-96 ... 8+6 4

1996 ... 24 17

1997 ... 31 17

1998 ... 25 12

Castleford T.

1999 ... 37 23

2000 ... 29 20

2001 ... 22 9

2002 ... 33 18

2003 ... 28 10

2004 ... 28+1 9

Dewsbury R.

2005 ... 25 21

Totals

Dewsbury 86 56

Salford R. 88+6 50

Castleford T. 177+1 89

England 5 2

Grand totals 356+7 197

*Statistics compiled by Ray Fletcher

National League Three Grand Final

BRAMLEY BUFFALOES v BRADFORD-DUDLEY HILL DEMONS

THE Buffaloes' charge will be called to a halt at the Halton Stadium, if Dudley Hill's player-coach Graeme Hallas has anything to say in the matter.

Hallas was in the Huddersfield Giants' Grand Final line-up that crushed Leigh Centurions 36-16 in 2002 and was quick to reflect on the day.

"The Halton Stadium is a happy hunting ground as far as I am concerned. So I have no doubts that we can win there,'' said Hallas, who moved on to play for the York City Knights after the Giants went back into the Super League.

But Bramley can also recall happy times for they beat Widnes in the Floodlit Final on the formerly named Naughton Park pitch during the Miners' strike in 1973.

Coach Phil Hellewell, the former Bradford and Huddersfield centre, will therefore be reminding his players that they also have something to live up to.

With Demons prop Richard Bingley and Sheffield Eagles' on-loan back Ryan Dickinson both in grave danger of missing the Final, Hallas has put himself and Jason Lee on standby.

"I have been close to playing three times in the past three games, but the injured players have managed to pull through. But this time it looks more like I will have to play on Sunday,'' said Hallas, who was disappointed that none of his players picked up any of the accolades at the LHF Healthplan end of season awards night.

"It was a bit galling for the players, because it's confirmation of how well they have played,'' he confessed.

With a vast array of experienced players in his side, Hallas is confident they can take the title, despite having lost twice in quick succession to Bramley.

"While we must start as the underdogs, we had a very good win over St Albans Centurions and that should put us in good stead,'' said Hallas.

Bramley will be at full strength with the addition of Luke Sellers and Craig Duda, the ex-Featherstone Rovers back.

"We have played Dudley Hill five times this year and while they have won three we are looking forward to making this a hat trick of League wins. All our games have been played at a very fast pace and this will be no exception,'' predicted Hellewell, who played in the 1995 Premiership Final at Old Trafford, when Huddersfield lost to Keighley.