SEDGLEY Tigers coach Geoff Roberts says his side can put themselves right back in the title mix with victory at rivals Sale on Saturday.

The Park Lane men bounced back from their second defeat of the season to grind out a 14-7 win at home to bottom side Harrogate at the weekend.

Victory in difficult conditions moved them back up to third place, above their conquerors of the previous weekend Leicester Lions, who lost at in-form Chester.

Sedgley now visit second-placed Sale with renewed confidence, and with current leaders Caldy travelling to Leicester Lions it could be tight at the top if results go the Tigers' way.

"We go into the game knowing if we win and Leicester Lions beat Caldy then all four teams will come back together again at the top," said Roberts.

"There is nothing we can do about what goes on elsewhere, though, so the main thing is to take care of our own business and ensure we are right there in the mix."

Sedgley are five points behind Sale, and can draw level with a bonus-point win on Saturday.

Caldy, meanwhile, have a two-point advantage at the top, and they are eight points ahead of fourth-placed Leicester Lions.

Roberts added: "Results this weekend may not be decisive, but there is a play-off feel to it.

"If they go against us, the top two could open up a bit of a gap, but I am not too concerned at this stage. Caldy have a lot of the top teams still to play, so their remaining fixtures look a lot tougher than ours, on paper at least.

"Obviously, the matches are not played on paper and as you saw from this weekend's games, conditions at this time of year are a real leveller.

"There were no run-away results for any of the top teams.

"They were all tight, so you can't really make any predictions at this stage."

Sedgley ran in two converted tries in the opening nine minutes, with Steve Collins kicking the extras after efforts from Matt Riley and Johnny Matthews.

But that was the end of the scoring for the home side.

Harrogate countered with a try from Tom Larder just before the break, which David Doherty converted. Doherty then missed a penalty attempt 10 minutes after the break, but Roberts said the result was never really in doubt.

"It was not a mud bath but it was very greasy under foot and when conditions are like that it's not a day for those with dancing feet," said Roberts.

"We got our tries early on, then it was a hard-fought game after that but we were never seriously under threat.

"There was a lot of running in straight lines, and we made the tackles when we needed to. In the end it was a solid performance.

"Apart from the result, we managed to field a virtually full-strength side, which was a bonus.

"Shaun Needham is still out with concussion, but it looks like our captain Juan Crous could be fit after spending the last two weeks out so that would be another timely boost ahead of the Sale game."