Finsbury Park coach Chapman believes they’ve shown their intent

The Downhills Park outfit were promoted into the division this season and have already set a strong benchmark as they sit second after eight games - after six wins and two defeats.

They host sixth-place Tabard on Saturday as they look to make it three consecutive wins after a brief slip in fortunes.

"We're almost halfway through the season and we're still right up there in second place," said Chapman.

"We've got some big games in the next month and they're going to be a big part of what is going to dictate our season.

"We're starting to work on what we want to do in those games, how and where we want to play, and where we want to be at the end of those going into the New Year."

Chapman knows there are no easy games at this level and expects another tough test this weekend, adding: "That's what has been shown to the whole team and club this year, this league is bringing new challenges week in, week out, and we have to push ourselves.

"The way we play is we focus on our game and try taking it into each Saturday, but throughout the games we have to adapt, and once we've played every team once it will give us more of an opportunity to focus on other teams' strengths and weaknesses."

Park head into the clash on the back of a 41-23 win at Royston, much to Chapman's delight, and he added: "It's a good feeling to get back to the winning ways, obviously it could have gone completely in the wrong direction, just as winning can become a habit losing can.

"It was a step in the right direction. We didn't quite get the 80 minutes together, but we stuck together as a team and did what we needed to.

"Charlie Nicholson put in a real stand-out performance. Within a couple minutes he had to be moved out of position to play full-back and even playing there he ended up getting two tries.

"He didn't really put a foot wrong the whole game, although the whole team played well, he was the stand-out man on the day."