W 50 - 17

By Dave Campbell

In a dazzling display at Silver Royd, Scarborough gave visitors Morley a head start by conceding an early try then stormed back with eight tries of their own for a bonus-point win that keeps them top of North One East.

Morley got off to a flying start in the 3rd minute when hooker Simon Ridgeway was driven over following a catch and drive from a five metre lineout for a 5-0 lead;  fullback Thomas Isherwood missed the conversion.

Sloppy handling by the Morley defence two minutes later saw the Seasiders win possession and quick hands saw centre Matty Young cross wide on the right to level the scores at 5-5

Morley kicked out on the full from the re-start but regained possession at the resulting scrum and immediately applied forward pressure with their cohesive pack.  And following a period where the visitors were camped on the Scarborough line, skipper Matty Jones was singled out in the 12^th minute for a yellow card following several team infringements.

Scarborough did well to weather the storm for the following ten minutes and ran in a couple of tries in Jones’s absence. A period of pressure on the Morley line saw a series of darts from the base of rucks repulsed before quick thinking scrum-half Jordi Wakeham dummied the visiting defenders on their own line to score near the posts in the 19^th minute. Tom Ratcliffe added the extras for a 12-5 lead before scoring a superb individual try in the corner following a looping run from 25 metres in the 22^nd minute.  

With half-time approaching Morley again applied pressure through their pack which just about had the edge in the set pieces. Powerful drives from short range tested the home defence which held firm with some terrific last ditch tackles but eventually succumbed when loose-head prop Greg Jones reached out and ‘grounded’ near the base of the post in the 38^th minute. Isherwood converted to cut the Scarborough lead to 17-12 at the break. 

Scarborough started the second half with verve and stretched their lead within three minutes of the kick-off; a ruck just outside the Morley twenty two saw Wakeham clear out and Ratcliffe release centre Aaron Wilson to bulldoze through and ground between the uprights; Ratcliffe converted for 24-12.

A powerful performance in the third quarter from the Seasiders completely starved the Leeds-based outfit of possession with some terrific work at the breakdown by the Dynamic Silver Royd pack and the drives and carries from second rowers Cade Robinson and Tom Hicks hit at the very heart of the Morley defence.

A superb display of box-kicking from Jordi Wakeham and tactical kicking from halfback partner Tom Ratcliffe pinned the visitors back in their own half and the game turned on an eight minute period in the final quarter when Scarborough ran in a further three tries without reply. Following a period of pressure on the Morley line hooker Sam Dawson drove over and Ratcliffe converted for 31-12 in the 65^th minute.

Five minutes later a superb flat pass from Robinson found Drew Govier; the flanker was tackled by Isherwood but got the ball away to fullback Jimmy Perrett who romped over in the 70^th minute; Ratcliffe added the extra two for 38-12. Three minutes later Robinson made a punishing break and released winger Manning Smith to show his opposite number Richard Knowles a clean pair of heels and touchdown for 43-12.

Referee Gavin Jones penalised Scarborough in their own 22 for a high tackle and  having spoken to skipper Jones gave him insufficient time to pass on the official warning to his team and quick thinking Morley centre Jonnie Graham darted over to score a consolation try for the visitors for 43-17 in the 77^th minute.

Game over? Not a bit of it; Morley won possession from a scrum mid-way in their half and moved the ball somewhat predictably across their backline; livewire Jordi Wakeham read the telegraph, intercepted and nipped in to score between the uprights; Ratcliffe converted for the half ton.

Coach Simon Smith must have been delighted with such a committed team performance with outstanding contributions all over the paddock; from a dynamic forward pack to a back division which shared seven of the eight tries scored.  The men from Silver Royd have scored almost 60 tries so far this season but still know they have many hard battles ahead in this most difficult of leagues.

Scarborough

Tries: young, wakeham x 2, ratcliffe, wilson, dawson, perrett, smith

Conversions: ratcliffe x 5

Teams

Scarborough: perrett smith young wilson jonty holloway ratcliffe wakeham core dawson jones (capt) robinson hicks e.govier d.govier martin
Substitutes: cutino anderson jordan holloway (all used)

Scarborough News "Man of the Match": cade robinson & jordan wakeham

With so many outstanding performances it was difficult to pick one player out, so I’ve named two; CADE ROBINSON for a superb performance in defence and going forward and JORDAN WAKEHAM whose quick-thinking in distribution, effective box-kicking and of course his two tries were big factors in his team’s success.