YORK Acorn ARLC will need to improve their attacking prowess if they are to have more joy in National Conference division two.

That was the message from manager Paul Lumby ahead of their clash at Castleford Lock Lane, which has been brought forward to tomorrow night (kick off 7.45pm) so players from both sides can get to the engage Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford, Manchester on Saturday evening.

Acorn failed to cross the whitewash against Ince Rosebridge last weekend as their winning start to the season ended and managed only two tries in a narrow victory at Ideal Isberg the previous week.

Lumby said: "We've been very disappointed with our attacking play. Our ball retention and decision-making have not been good enough and we've been working hard on that in training.

"Defensively we've been excellent, conceding only two tries in the last two games, but you can't tackle for that long, no matter how good your defence is.

"We haven't created enough chances at the other end or looked like scoring enough points.

"It needs to be better against the better organised defences in this division."

Promoted Acorn still lie third, just one point off top spot, and will have Darren Callaghan back at stand-off tomorrow after his holiday following the end of his York City Knights commitments.

Prop Lee McTigue also returns after work commitments ruled him out longer than expected. He takes the place of Mick Hagan, who is unavailable, as is second-row Alan Willitts, which means a full debut for Davey Burns, who has impressed off the bench recently. Jimmy Morrow could also return to the pack after a leg injury.

Lumby reckoned tomorrow night's test will be tough and warned of difficult matches ahead, notwithstanding Acorn's excellent start to the season.

"Lock Lane have picked up in the last few weeks and this will be a hard match to bounce back with," he said.

"A lot of teams who started badly have started to pick up a few wins. They know how to survive in this division and we need to keep picking up points. It's impor-tant that we get back on track as soon as possible."

Updated: 10:56 Thursday, October 13, 2005