THERE’S no let-up in the battle to claim the Pennine League Second Division crown.
Leaders Emley Moor and second-placed Newsome Panthers were both victorious once again, while third-placed Wyke remain hot on their heels with a 21-6 victory at Westgate Redoubt.
Moor secured an 11th win of the campaign with a 46-22 triumph over Dearne Valley Bulldogs, while Newsome Panthers remain four League points behind – albeit with a game in hand – after a 60-6 thrashing of Morley Borough.
The win for Moor was achieved despite the fact they were lacking the services of several key players, including top tryscorer Jason Southwell and strike centre Dave Pawson.
And in the first half, Emley were made to work hard to gain an advantage as they held a slender 10-6 lead thanks to tries from Scott Quarmby and Scott Wilkinson and an Andy Tillotson goal.
But in the second half, the home side turned the screw and ran in tries at regular intervals.
A Tillotson penalty set the ball rolling before tries from Jamie Lang and Ben Adamson gave Moor genuine breathing space for the first time.
The Bulldogs did battle back to reduce the deficit to 22-18.
But in the final quarter, two tries each from Kris Shepherd and Glen Holdsworth and goals from Tillotson made the game safe.
It was far more straightforward for the Panthers, however, who dominated their contest from start to finish.
Ben Feehan was once again to the fore with a hat trick of tries and he also shared the goalkicking duties with Ross Studholme, with the pair landing eight of the 11 conversions.
As well as Feehan’s three, tries were scored by Nick Corion, Martin Robinson (2), Simon Burkinshaw (2) and Lee McCofferty. Leading the attack were Studholme, McCofferty, Ste Farrell, Wes Devlin and Damien Kenchington, while Farrell and Studholme led the tackle count.
