Just ask Morley, who after winning 14 National Three North matches on the spin, have now lost two of their last three and find themselves in second place behind new leaders Stockport, with Penrith also breathing down their necks.

The Maroons were toppled off the top following a 38-0 humbling 'nilling' at mid-tablers Birkenhead Park on Saturday, with head coach Peter Seabourne labelling their first-half performance as 'unacceptable'.

And while Seabourne gave his men the benefit of the doubt following their recent loss at Penrith, he gave his side the hair-dryer treatment at the interval, before a more considered appraisal of matters following the game.

In the middle of the pack, they may be, but Park's home on the Wirral has been a fortress this term, and they claimed their most high-profile scalp in the shape of Morley, with Seabourne left to pick up the pieces with his side 31-0 in arrears following a desperate first 40 minutes.

To their credit, the Maroons improved on the restart, but it wasn't enough to yield anything from a wholly difficult afternoon.

Stockport, who saw off Rossendale, cashed in to reclaim top spot and a five-point buffer, although Morley – three points clear of Penrith in second – do have a game in hand.

On a dismal Saturday, Seabourne admitted: "No excuses, they dominated.

"We got thumped, basically from the start. I was disappointed with how we played and applied ourselves.

"To be fair to them, they were outstanding. There was a 20-25-minute spell where we didn't touch the ball, it was just last-ditch tackles and kicking the ball away and giving it back to them.

"They caused me headaches in terms of how they played and we needed to change things slightly.

"I spoke to the players (at half-time) and got a reaction in the second half. And we only conceded one more try when we quite easily could have folded.

"I tore a strip of them, to be honest. It (first half) was unacceptable; we were outmuscled up front and we defended as poorly as we have done all season.

"We then had a good chat after the game and I didn't go swearing and carrying on. It was a case of 'let's be sensible about things'.

"The players came back with one or two things they aren't happy with and they feel we need to change in regards to training and we need to apply ourselves now.

"It's about doing that and working hard this weekend, because one or two have been coasting."