THERE is a dangerous myth around that the Claro Road December derby comes gift-wrapped as an early Christmas present for the Dale. Turn up and play with that extra commitment and hard-headed fervour Harrogate are rarely able to match and tear open not just their defence, but the silver paper producing the two-point present as well.

Well, Saturday's 19-15 win by the Dalesmen will have done little to lessen such presumption. And like all myths, this one contains more than grain of truth.

But the colder headed reality is that such games have been invariably competitively fought, often tumultuously combative affairs with victory only achieved by careful planning, sustained and focused commitment and the nerveless desire that fuels the will to win.

Again on Saturday Wharfedale displayed such qualities to the full.

High-riding Harrogate were given a lesson in forward control and subdued for the long and sustained periods that determined the outcome of the contest. And when at last, in a final 10 minutes of an absorbing struggle, they had possession, territory and attacking command to fashion the single try that could have retrieved a lost cause, they were shackled by the tenacious and unyielding Green defence.

Wharfedale on the day were clearly the better-organised, stronger and more focused side and fully deserved the win.

At the half-way point of the season, Wharfedale's victory moves them level on points with their second-placed derby hosts behind leaders Sedgley Park.

And with all their opponents now played, they clearly have the capacity on the day to cope with any one of them. Each and every team is vulnerable and it will be the sides who most consistently display the fighting qualities that have brought the Dalesmen their last two derby victories who triumph at the end of the season.

Wharfedale's clear strategy for success was immediately revealed. A low and hard forward driving game, backed up by wide diagonal kicking designed to play deep to the corners behind the Harrogate defence to both minimise their dangerous counter-attack potential and keep their pack on the retreat.

And how well both the team and individuals responded to such a tight game plan.

Up front the pack was fearsomely tight in their foraging, producing in one second-half passage a bout of pick-and-drive play that was worth the entrance money alone.

If inevitably the spearhead was the indefatigable Ben Wade, revelling in the best intimidating form he has produced for the Greens, the whole front-five have never responded better to his lead and Paul Evans alongside him revived memories of the combative physicality of his peek.

And for good measure Tony Capstick hunted tirelessly in the loose.

Behind them Adam Oldfield played to order with a succession of accurate and well-judged kicks to the corner and if the distribution in midfield held little threat, their defence, based on the granite corner stone of Andy Baggett's tackling, repeatedly negated the dangerous running of the talented Harrogate three-quarters

Wharfedale dominated possession, territory and momentum from the off, but clever kicking, though keeping the hosts on the retreat, never established positions close enough to the line to produce real scoring chances.

But what it did instil into Harrogate was the feeling that they were playing from behind, which no doubt played its part in Lee Cholewa's easy penalty miss under the Wharfedale posts when at last they gained their first attacking foothold.

The hosts remained under pressure for most of the half, with Jonathan Davies securing a 6-nil advantage with two expertly struck kicks, but Harrogate underlined their potential for scoring from scraps when they dispossessed Wharfedale behind a defensive scrum and spread the ball with expert timing for wingman James Tapster to streak over.

Cholewa failed with conversion, but added a penalty on the stroke of half-time to give his side an 8-6 lead.

An early second-half try by Gareth Johnson, picking off a support pass from Phillip Peel after an excellent short side drive by the pack, restored the Greens' lead and the conversion and two further penalties by Davies saw Wharfedale ahead by a healthy 19-8 on the hour. With prop Gabriel carded the visitors looked home and very nearly dry.

But a second try from a bustling powerful run by the increasingly prominent Barker set up a tense finish, but Harrogate's final unavailing attacking flurry foundered repeatedly on the rock of the Greens' superb defence.

Whatever the remainder of the season holds, Wharfedale more than Harrogate, one fancies, will savour the thought of the return fixture at The Avenue.