ILKLEY take a break from their faltering North Premier League campaign and switch their focus to the Yorkshire Cup on Saturday.

The home quarter-final against Doncaster Phoenix could prove to be a welcome distraction as they bid to reach the last four for the first time in 79 years.

Last Saturday’s 31-25 reverse at Hull was the Dalesmen’s fifth league defeat in a row, but head of rugby Rhys Morgan insists there is no cause for alarm.

He draws comfort from the fact that the margins of their last two losses against unbeaten leaders Preston Grasshoppers and Hull have been small.

On both occasions his side emerged with two bonus points after scoring four tries in each encounter and keeping the margin of defeat within seven points.

“If you had said before we played the game we would get four points from them we would most definitely have taken that return,” said Morgan

“Preston and Hull are both ambitious clubs with enviable budgets, but we ran them close.

“In both matches we tried to force the play in the final five minutes and paid for it.

“We do need to try and manage the game better. There are times when we would be better kicking for territory and then playing in the right areas of the pitch.

“It isn’t easy trying to run tries in from 60 or 70 metres out, and some time we just need to be a little more pragmatic.”

Injuries continue to be a real pain for Ilkley. Flanker Pat Power became the latest player to join the lengthy casualty list when he broke a hand against Hull.

“We had just got number eight JH Johnson back and now we have lost another member of the back row,” said Morgan.

“It has been the story of the season. We haven’t been able to have any consistency of selection, but we have to accept that every team has injuries, they are part and parcel of the game.”

One player who has made the most of the opportunity given to him by injury is Luke Freer.

The former Old Otliensians back has settled in at outside centre since Chris Gemmell was sidelined by a knee injury.

“It was one of my biggest frustrations of last season that I didn’t get the best out of Luke Freer,” admitted Morgan. “He is a gifted runner, has a strong defence, and he is benefitting from a settled run in the team.”