Curtains open and close in the defeat of Keighley

Stapleton and Mcleod shine on debut while Farquhar goes out with a win

Skipton 24 - 12 Keighley

Skipton came out on top in this fiercely contested local derby.
Tries from Lee Shaw (Witch Electrical), Mark Walton (Three Sheep cafe), Ash Greaves (One Contact) and debutant Joe Stapleton settled the affair but Skipton's resilience in defence and versatility of some of the players was most impressive.
Jake Emmison, Tony Spensley, Sean Mcleod and Ash Greaves all played out of position at times to cover for absentees from the squad and really proved their worth.
The pack was strong with special mention to Michael Murray and Andy Whitley (The Albion) for maintaining the forward drive for 80 minutes and prop turned winger Andy Baron who found himself making great yards by creating the mismatch on the short side.
Skipton spent more than half the game within their own 22 which makes the scoreline even the more impressive. 'The Wall' Aidan Proctor had to be thanked more than once and skipper Lee Shaw cleaned up any linebreaks with relative ease not missing a tackle.
Men of the Match were Joe Stapleton and Sean Mcleod. Both making their Skipton debuts, not that anyone could tell from the calmness and effort.
From a pair playing their first to a legend playing his last. Alex Farquhar had an amazing game with plenty of ball steals, strong carries and a welcomed absence of the Farquhar Stomp. It is with regret this was Sir Alex's last game for Skipton and he was unable to finish playing on his own terms. The veteran has been a servant of Skipton for 35 years being known as Crash Ball Alex in his hayday at centre before moving into the pack. Alex will always remain part of Skipton in some capacity despite calling time on his unparalleled playing career.
On Saturday Skipton face Guisborough in the rearranged North Yorkshire Trophy fixture, kickoff 2:15 at Sandylands.