Selby 3rds v Morley Saxons

A somewhat unexpectedly strong Morley side turned up at Sandhill Lane on Saturday and gave Selby 3rds a run for their money.

Having only fulfilled one fixture this season (an 82-12 loss at York) it was a surprise to all when Morley arrived and brought a full complement of subs, supporters and even a water boy! Selby on the other hand had another changed team due to unavailability's, injury and a simple break down in communication and were looking for their first win after a cracking effort the week before at table toppers Castleford.

Morley began brightly and the consistency of their turnovers set the pattern for the day as they picked on an error strewn Selby 3rd team performance that beggared belief. Morley battered the Selby line for sustained periods in the first 10 minutes and it was only the tackling and work rate of William Blaymire and Ben Booth that halted them. Eventually Selby ran out of defenders and an easy walk under the sticks gave them a deserved first try.

Selby bounced back with the impressive Rob Shann scoring the first of his 2 tries for the day, cutting back inside and leaving 3 defenders behind him he crossed the line for an immediate rebuttal. Leigh Adamson just missing with the kick, but from the kick off Selby had a chance to take the lead as a penalty was knocked over from Adamson. Morley continued to capitalise on the inability of the some of the Selby players to present the ball properly at the tackle and their impressive back row stole more of the Selby ball than I can remember making it difficult to gain any momentum. Rob Shann was enjoying his best half in a Selby shirt for a very long time and had the better of his opposite man on every occasion but the ball just didn't get to him enough as dropped passes and wrong decisions cost Selby dear.

Morley grabbed a couple of quick scores and it looked even worse as Godfrey left the pitch early in the half but a quick reshuffle and the introduction of Paul Brough-jones looked to have steadied the ship with some great work rate. Ben Booth, making his way back from injury, hit a great angle and crashed under the sticks for a good Selby try and with Adamson notching the extras the scores didn't look too bad going in at half time but the message was simple, stop giving it to Morley on a plate and make them work for it.

The second half was a more even encounter with both teams not giving too much away as bodies tired, Morley had a couple of nasty looking injury's which they replaced and Aidan Pearce had to leave the field after an awkward landing caused his knee to buckle. With no subs left for Selby the reintroduction of an injured Shann, Selby were back to a full compliment but Morley made the most of the fresh legs running in 2 more tries, one of which was a delightful chip and chase that fell perfectly into the full backs arms from the bounce. Another Adamson Penalty brought Selby closer and when the injured Shann managed to drive over the line Selby looked primed to claw it back but with time ebbing away and legs having run their race it was fitting that a basic error from Rawson should bring the match to a close. A deserved Morley Saxons jubilant and a dejected Selby 3rd team at a loss as to what they have to do to actually gain the league win their previous efforts deserve.

Man of the match deservingly going to Robert Shann for his all-round excellent performance.

Selby welcome Cleck next week for a friendly that is always entertaining to say the least. Players are advised to make Chris Rawlins aware of availability's as he once again battles to put together a 3rd team squad for the home game.