Morley recovered from a 14 -0 deficit to score 4 unanswered tries but had to be at their defensive best to deny the Pocklington forwards in the final stages. Morley once again had the edge in the scrum and lineouts normally went with the throw in very difficult conditions. The Pocklington forwards were a little larger than their Maroon counterparts but seemed a lot more aggressive in their tackling and when moving slowly up field in short drives. The Morley backs had plenty of pace and had the wind been less violent then they would have provided more tries.

Ollie Flegg made a welcome return after missing the last 4 games and slotted in perfectly into the lock position left vacant due to Sam Brown’s injury. Andy Ellis took a knock in the victory at York and this led to Harrison Baylis moving to 12, with Jason Kenneally playing at 13 and Finlay Dewar making his first appearance at fullback. Mike Shannon was on the bench after his illness.

Pocklington kicked off with a very strong and very cold wind behind them. Morley did well to retain possession for most of the first five minutes but the Pocklington defence held firm. A risky pass went to ground and Pocklington were able to kick the ball from their 22 to the Morley try line. There were enough Morley players back in time, but poor execution gave Pocklington an attacking throw in. Morley defended the first catch and drive, but the powerful Pocklington forwards went over with hooker James Thornton claiming the try. Fullback Christian Pollock kicked the conversion in despite the wind to give the visitors the lead on 8 minutes.

The lead was doubled 8 minutes later when a careless pass as Morley were attacking fell perfectly to outside centre Josh Britton who had a straightforward sprint to the posts.

Morley set about making amends and dominated. However, Morley were struggling to make much progress against a stubborn Pocklington defence. The pressure began to tell and Pocklington began to upset the referee in their attempts to deny Morley’s attacks. First prop Euan Walker was yellow carded on 28 minutes for persistent scrum offences and then two minutes later lock Archie Fothergill was the unlucky Pocklington player to receive a “team yellow card” for persistent infringements.

Morley took immediate advantage. Kerry Wood and Jacob Percival set up a move down the Morley right wing. The forwards secured quick possession and the ball went via Harrison Baylis to Jason Kenneally. Running a clever line and with Isherwood drawing cover outside him, Kenneally skipped inside his opposite number and fought off the challenge of the Pocklington captain to go over on 33 minutes. Isherwood’s conversion narrowing the gap to 7 – 14.

As might be expected with a 2 man advantage, Morley continued to retain possession. Greg Jones, Nick Green and Tom Richmond put in some powerful runs before Finlay Dewar created space for Karl Bradshaw on the right hand touch line. Fresh from his York hat trick Bradshaw knew exactly what to do and he sprinted down the line to score. Isherwood was unable to convert from the touchline but Morley went in at half time only 12 – 14 down.

Morley kicked off the second half deep to the corner and Pocklington did remarkably to battle their way into the Morley half in a series of short drives. Morley defended well, but could not prevent Pocklington gaining those vital few inches with each drive. It took a knock on to hand over possession and then with a clinical boot, Chester sent them back to within 5m with a punishing kick.

Morley regained the ball as Pocklington kicked out and the dazzling feet of Dewar carved through the centre. The forwards regained the ball after Dewar had been tackled on the right and Sewell and Chester quickly sent it to the left. Baylis cleverly got the ball away in the tackle and Isherwood was there to set up Dan Percival on the wing. The prop covered the 5 metres with his blistering pace to score to put Morley in front. Isherwood’s conversion pushed the score to 19 – 14 on 48 minutes.

Morley’s final try came on 52 minutes and was scored by the impressive Finlay Dewar. The move was started by Baylis and Chester before Dewar beat two defenders and released Karl Bradshaw on the halfway line. Bradshaw tore down the centre with a host of pursuers in his wake. As the defenders moved in, a lofted pass to the supporting Dewar gave Dewar the freedom to run in the final 20 metres unopposed to gain the bonus point try. Isherwood despatched the conversion with relative ease and the Morley supporters looked forward to more Morley scores.

However, Pocklington had other ideas and scored their third try on 56 minutes with centre Josh Britton’s second try. Pollock maintained his 100 percent kicking ratio to set up a tense final quarter with the score at 26 – 21.

Pocklington had most of the possession and much of the game was being played in the Morley half. During this period the Morley defence was superb and they kept out Pocklington. Even when Pocklington were down to 14 men on 68 minutes following a yellow card for reckless use of the boot, Pocklington still kept up the pressure on the Morley line.

The final few minutes were gripping. Greg Jones was yellow carded for entering a ruck from the side on 79 minutes. Pocklington took their customary catch and drive but knocked on over the line. Morley had the put in at the scrum and despite being a man down won a penalty. Somehow the ball was lost and Pocklington had possession again but the chance was lost with a knock on. Final whistle and relief all round!

Morley matches with Pocklington have been close in recent years and today’s game was no exception. Morley deserved to win for their four fine tries and herculean defence. Pocklington forwards will feel aggrieved at only getting a losing bonus point for their magnificent effort.

Next week Morley travel to Driffield hoping to continue their winning run. Driffield will be hurting from their surprising defeat at Consett and will be looking to bounce back. Kick off will be 2.15.

At the moment the Cavaliers have a free Saturday after their excellent victory at Harrogate on Saturday but the Saxons will be at Scatcherd Lane to entertain you. They kick off against Bramley Phoenix in a league fixture at 2.15pm