Selby 3rds 41 vs. Cleckheaton 15 9th February 2013

Cleckheaton brought their particular brand of physicality to Sandhill Lane bent on revenge for the reversal at their place earlier in the season however after a hard slog of a match found themselves returning to West Yorkshire with little to show for it
Three minutes in and the Swans first excursion upfield pecked a hole in the Cleck defence big enough for Adam Roberts to barge through to score
The next twenty minutes of toil produced nothing more than errors and frustration before Cleck finally conjured up a reply to level the scores. Chances were few and far between and the match official’s curious pipings left players and spectators alike confused. The spell was finally broken and, with half time fast approaching, Jason Goodwin scythed through for Ted Townend to convert putting the Swans up 12-5 at the break
The second half opened brightly for Selby as John Taylor stole over & Townend added the extras before Cleck struck back with a dubious maneuver to drag the ball over Selby’s line and reduce the deficit.
Jordan Barton muscled over after good work in the loose by Simon Lewis to put Selby 24-10 up. Aiden Pearce was on the end of a sweeping passing move, instigated by Neil Williams poaching Cleck line-out ball, to further extend the lead
Roberts battled over again to touch down in the corner for Selby but Cleck hit straight back and as the clock ran down Simon Lee assaulted the Cleck line and spirited the ball out for the lurking Roberts to dot down & convert his hat-trick try
As is becoming the norm with Selby’s 3rd tier it’s never the same team two weeks running however there is a strong core to this team who deliver consistent powerful performances. Ben Spence was a thorn in Cleck’s side all afternoon. Steve Knowles, Neil Venables & Simon Lee were solid throughout. The whole show being fuelled by the physical and verbal promptings of Mickey Parsonage
Selby’s season is entering a defining period with the return to league action against Harrogate Pirates next Saturday being followed by a visit to Ripon for the semi-final of the North Yorkshire Cup the week after.
The depth and breadth of this squad is what will see them overcome the challenges before them