1) Destiny

Put simply, Northwich now have control of theirs.

With six matches left, they occupy first place in South Lancs/Cheshire Division One – something they have done since March 5.

The distance to closest-rivals West Park is six points, which means the St Helens side are now relying on Blacks to slip up to make the teams’ scheduled meeting in May matter.

On Friday Martin Poste, appointed director of rugby at Northwich last summer, said the opposite was true.

But a third successive defeat for West Park, the latest against Hoylake at the weekend, has handed to his men an unexpected advantage.

Four of their next five games are against teams currently in the table’s bottom half.

However one of those is a derby return against Winnington Park at Burrows Hill and their neighbours, despite their on-field problems this season, would love nothing more than to complete a league double over Blacks.

2) They’ve been here before

Saturday’s 39-28 success at Glossop extends a winning sequence in the league to 15 matches, a feat Northwich have not managed in almost a decade.

On that occasion, they started a campaign with the same number of victories before drawing 13-13 with Leigh on March 10, 2007.

It did not stop the men from Moss Farm going on to claim the South Lancs/Cheshire Division One title at the end of a campaign when they also lifted the RFU Senior Vase at Twickenham and the Cheshire RFU Vase.

There will be no treble this time around following early exits in both county and national knockout competitions, but a victory against Bowdon next time out will improve on the winning run set during that memorable record-setting campaign.

Yan Cartman, Dave Farley, Chris Heywood, Chris James and Rick Smith of that side have all played for the first team this time around too.

Northwich Guardian:

The challenge for Sam Naylor and his Northwich teammates is to hang on to their lead

3) Backed up by numbers

Northwich have been the best team in the division this season on almost every measure.

They have won more matches than anybody else, a feat made more remarkable by the fact they lost three of their first five fixtures.

However, Blacks are unbeaten now in the league since October 3.

Their aggregate points total for the season passed 700 during their latest victory at Glossop, reaching that milestone in fewer games than their title-winning counterparts nine years ago.

They have more bonus-point wins than anybody else, while their points-difference is an eye-popping +445.

Northwich’s defence is the meanest in the section too, conceding on average just 13 points per match.

Indeed only once, in a 38-32 reverse at Liverpool St Helens, have they shipped more than 30.

The fact Glossop put 28 on the board on Saturday shows how difficult a match that was for the men from Moss Farm.

4) They're fearless

Glossop had won all nine games on home turf this term, and had lost only once in front of their own supporters in a league fixture since November 2014.

Coincidentally, that 17-match sequence started after losing 22-15 to Northwich last term.

Undaunted, Blacks spoiled the current campaign’s unblemished record too.

They returned from Isle of Man after losing to Douglas during last season, something they put right this time around.

And revenge was sweet when LSH visited town in January, thrashing them 40-7 during a scintillating performance at Moss Farm.

Find an obstacle for this group, and they have found a way around or over it – so far at least.

They may be more to follow, not least needing to beat neighbours Winnington Park and – potentially – West Park to achieve their objective of finishing first.

5) Focus

Northwich have so far been humble, and need to remain so.

They have an added incentive to avoid a promotion play-off after painful defeats in winner-takes-all contests at Sandal, back in 2010, and then at Bolton three years ago.

The latter experience was particularly acute after their opponents snatched victory from the final play of a contest Blacks had led.

During an interview with the Guardian in January, Sam Naylor said this season’s side should not be compared to others he has played in at a higher level.

He added: “Until we’re back in the division above, we can’t say we’re as good as some of the other Northwch teams I’ve been part of.

“That’s what we’re aiming to be.”

And after Saturday’s success, Poste’s message was similar.

He said: “We’ve work to do, so there’s no use shouting now.”