BIG changes have taken place in the Pennine League and New Earswick All Blacks ARLC boss Jack Stearman reckons his club will be better off for it - despite having their best result of the season wiped off.

All Blacks came from 24-8 down to beat Queensbury 26-24 in the championship division on Saturday but that result has been expunged after a restructuring this week of the league's leading tiers.

Queensbury have been moved up to the premier division, along with Halifax Irish, Brighouse Rangers, West Bowling and Illingworth, while New Earswick and the rest of the championship clubs have been placed in championship one. There is no longer a championship division and the only results that remain are those between clubs still in the same tier.

However, with more clubs in each tier, it means All Blacks now get 22 games rather than 16 this season, and Stearman said: "That's great because it gives people more opportunity to get the New Earswick shirt on.

"We've complained there wasn't enough games. We'll see how it affects the schedule and we'll do the best we can."

As for the Queensbury result, he said: "It now doesn't count but it's not a bad indicator of where we should be.

"We've beaten a team that have been put into the premier league.

"Promotion is the aim for us as it is every season, but we take every game one at a time. We won seven and lost nine in the league last year and first and foremost we want to do better than that."

The restructuring follows the decision by premier division big-guns Drighlington to switch to the summer National Conference League, plus the demotion of Methley Royals to division one for reasons yet to be confirmed, and the fact East Hull did not join the league as expected.

There are now 11 teams in the premier division and 12 in championship one - with All Blacks now having a derby of sorts against Brotherton.

This Saturday the York outfit, whose new record reads won one lost one, face Morley Borough, who start their season from scratch having played three teams who have all been shifted up the premier division.

All Blacks will be without Bobby Smith, Jack Sinclair, Jack Carling and Nic Caldwell, who are all unavailable, but Chris Varley is back and Max Colley, who like Varley, has moved across the city from Heworth ARLC, might be given a run at half-back. Steve Doswell faces a late fitness test.

Stearman added: "We gave a really good second-half performance last week against Queensbury. In the first half we went away from our game-plan but we had a serious talk after they scored just after half-time, saying we had to be more disciplined in attack, and we went back to doing what we do well - and the result speaks for itself."

Division four leaders Sherburn Bears, 80-0 winners over poor Wortley last week, go to second-placed Crofton Cougars for a top-of-the-table meeting in which at least one 100 per cent record will end.

Selby Warriors, given a confidence boost by their big win over lower Queensbury 'B' in the Supplementary Cup, will have to wait to take that into the league as they are without a fixture.