YORK Acorn ARLC coach Josh Mortimer has laid down the gauntlet to his players ahead of Saturday's league opener as a big Challenge Cup tie looms on the horizon.

The Blue and Golds' new National Conference League division one season kicks off at the weekend with a tricky trip to Pilkington Recs - a side against whom Acorn have earned only one point in six meetings - and Mortimer wants to get off to a positive start.

Mortimer believes the Thanet Road outfit are in good spirits following their Coral Challenge Cup second-round victory at Wath Brow Hornets, a win which earned them a third-round home tie against Featherstone Lions a week on from the Pilks test - and the potential money-spinning prize of a Championship club in round four.

He says, however, that his charges must ignore the allure of the cup competition for now.

Mortimer said: "We've got a lot of boys competing for a lot of positions and some pretty senior lads within the club definitely disappointed in the decisions not to pick them.

"The lads who have come in have done the job and they haven't let anyone down. They've played really well and their attitude has been good. You can't change a side if they're winning and doing the right things.

"We've got two new forwards coming in and I've said to them that they've got the chance to play in the first team, and they could be in with a chance the week after.

"There are places up for grabs in pretty big games for us and I'm expecting a committed week of training.

"It's a tough opening week. We've never beaten Pilks before - the best I think we've done is a draw four years ago. They're good in the forwards and switching players round in the rucks.

"We've got a point to prove. That being said, I think they (Pilkington) will have looked at our Challenge Cup game and they'll think 'let's do a job on these'.

"It's a tough ask, but confidence is sky-high. We're feeling good going into it."

On the new season and the upcoming cup game, Mortimer added: "I've been stressing to the boys to just rein it in a little bit. We've got to beat Pilks first - that's the target. We'll worry about the Challenge Cup after that.

"The boys keep coming to me saying they've got a good feeling about this year. They think we can do something. But if that's the case, we've got to start with a bang.

"As far as I'm concerned, this is the most important fixture at the moment. I want to beat Pilks, then next week we'll think about the Challenge Cup, then Normanton Knights after that.

"You don't want to start the season on a loss, do you?"

Tim Stubbs and Nathan Welsh are ruled out. Antony Chilton, whose baby boy has just been born, is an uncertainty.

In division three, meanwhile, Heworth will look to bounce back from their disappointing opening day defeat at Eastmoor Dragons when they host Leigh East.

Yorkshire Men's League outfits New Earswick All Blacks and Acorn 'A' are both in Forty20 Cup action. All Blacks host Brighouse Rangers and Acorn entertain Wakefield Hawks.