HUDDERSFIELD’S Junior Colts maintained their top spot in Division II of the Yorkshire League after a battling 10-0 victory over their nearest title rivals, West Park Leeds.
Out of action since the middle of December, Huddersfield made a poor start when they knocked on from the kick-off in what was a rare opportunity to play on the first-team pitch at Lockwood Park.
That left the home side having to work extremely hard to retrieve field position against a fired-up West Park pack who were determined to keep the ball tight and attack round the fringes.
Matthew Sherring-Lucas had a useful run down the wing after being set free by impressive centre Oliver Kirk, but towards half-time the lack of game time began to tell on Huddersfield’s pack following some heavy contact in the middle of the pitch.
Lewis Workman narrowly missed giving his side the lead with a penalty shot from just inside halfway, and then missed a second when Leeds were caught offside.
But it didn’t worry him as he struck another between the sticks minutes later to get the scoreboard moving.
Full-back Dan Bodsworth was called on to pull off a try-saving tackle as Huddersfield took a 3-0 lead into the half-time break.
With both sets of forwards tiring in the second half the game began to open up and the constantly dangerous Chris Cooper twice went close to breaking away, and he almost bagged an interception which would have seen him go under the sticks.
Huddersfield struck a decisive blow when Workman and Kirk combined to feed openside prop Miles Prescott who set up the ruck from where Cooper left three would-be tacklers on the floor and went in under the posts, leaving Workman a straightforward conversion.
They were almost over again minutes later when burly Elliot Clemson burst through a number of tackles only to be dragged down five metres from the line.
West Park refused to buckle, and threw the kitchen sink at Huddersfield in an attempt to breach the line, but the home defence was rock solid and determined not to crack and it was left to James Irvine to hoof the ball into touch to close the game out.
Huddersfield’s defence was brilliant, preventing Leeds from registering as single point, as was their discipline as they didn’t concede a single penalty attempt.
Prescott, Dan Robinson and Will Bennett had excellent games in the line-out, while the front row of Tim Watson, Dave Dyson and Mikey Hramiak were equal to a very strong Leeds front row.
Other top performances came from Lewis Berry and Cooper, who continue to show what dangerous running backs they are, and the Colts are on the road again tomorrow, when they visit Pocklington (12.30pm).
