Ossett welcomed Huddersfield to Queens Terrace on a wet and muddy February day. Luckily no one was subject to ‘Cartrouble’ so the game went ahead on time. The homeside were forced into some last-minute alterations with Johny McGee dropping out before kick-off. The visitors started the game brightly, using their big ball runners to make hard yards before releasing their quick and talented backs. Ossett battled well to stay in the game dealing well with the ‘Rough Stuff’ but finding it difficult to break out of their own half. One cutting move by the Huddersfield backs provided a ‘Desperate but not serious’ situation but Jonny Lazenby rushing from his own wing to the far wing put in a ‘Wonderful’ tackle to stop the very promising attack. The tackle galvanised Ossett who started to gain a foothold in the game. Unfortunately, Ossett then lost Ethan and Ian Whitehead who both departed with nasty cuts to the head, whether it was ‘Friend or Foe’ no one knows. The incident highlighted the real ‘Dog eat dog’ game which was particularly attritional in the first half.

With no functioning line out, Ossett were taking quick taps which not only tired out the visiting pack but also provided quick yards. After one such quick tap, the Huddersfield winger was not a ‘Goody two shoes’ and was sent to the sinbin for 10 minutes. With the home side down to 14, Ossett had good possession and territory. Deep inside the visitor’s 22, Ossett’s forwards through Dan Wray and Chris Blackburn, were trying to breach the tough Huddersfield defence, and with defensive numbers committed, Ossett spun the ball out via Andy Bell to Daniel Duce who dotted down. Duce was successful with the conversion to give the home side a 7-0 lead which they held onto until half time.

The second half started in the same way that the first half ended, with Ossett making yards through the forwards and spinning the ball out to the backs who found space. Huddersfield had opportunities to break on numerous occasions but good cover tackling held them at bay. With the wind and the slope now helping them out, Ossett continually pinned Huddersfield back in their own 22 via Bell, Mark Fisher and Jacob Dransfield, where opportunities were arising. A break by Wray provided a 5-metre penalty which after several drives was finally touched down by Rich Carr. Duce’s conversion barely got off the ground, ‘Gotta be a sin’!

By now it was clear that Huddersfield’s big pack was tiring although backs were still dangerous. Although they were trying to get out of their own half, the visiting side were met by strong tackling from Johnny Numa and Lee Hemmingway amongst others. With the game coming to a close,. Duncan Kitts found some rare space to bounce off some tackles and score under the sticks. Skipper, Fisher, scored the conversion to provide Ossett with a ‘Beautiful Dream’ of a 17-0 win.

Throughout the game, Ossett competed well against bigger and more experienced opposition in a tough but fair game. Those who played front row for Ossett were outstanding (Paul Westerman, Gareth Burnley, Gary Smith, Dave Hanley, Dave Taylor), not taking a backwards step all game and even getting on top in the scrums towards the end. Strong tackling and great workrate kept the score to nil, with Lazenby’s tackle being a real game-changer. The referee, who resembled ‘Prince Charming’, was superb, showing once again the refereeing standard in the Yorkshire game. Man of the match went to Kitts with DotD shared between Mark Mayfield and Hemmingway. Onwards to next week.

The firsts went down 28-7 to Knottingley.