CONFERENCE power won out at Brighouse Sports Club last night as Siddal bludgeoned their way to victory in the Halifax Championship final against Pennine League high flyers Halifax Irish.

The Chevinedge outfit were physically dominant from the start but found the swarming defence of their opponents virtually impregnable until late tries from Dale Taylor and Anthony Sawyer secured victory.

With Siddal's Halifax under 21s prop Scott Law in brilliant form with the ball, and his former Shay teammate Luke Simeunovich prominent in a crushing defensive effort, it was always difficult to see how Irish were going to muster the points needed to challenge for victory.

Stand off Graham Charlesworth, the star of last weekend's Fee Cup success, was well marshalled by opposite number Lee Gudor, with Irish's best moments being orchestrated by Siddal old boy Chris Holroyd and loose forward Anthony Irvine.

Siddal's biggest problem was their own discipline, with a steady flow of penalties going Irish's way until well into the second half when the underdogs began to lose their way in the face of tremendous Siddal pressure, culminating in the sin binning of Irvine for a high tackle.

The contrasting strengths of the teams were clear from the start: Siddal using their size and power to dominate in midfield and Irish attempting to use their smaller, quicker players on the fringes.

Holroyd gave Irish the early lead with a penalty after he had been obstructed chasing his own kick through.

And the half back was at it again moments later, sending Irvine to within a whisker of the line.

It took Siddal 20 minutes to find a way to break down Irish, whose tenacity must have pleased their coach Andrew Brocklehurst, hooker Craig Sanderson selling a dummy and plunging under the posts.

Jason Blackburn added the extras for a 6-2 lead and that was how it stayed until the break, although Siddal did have other chances: Law's 40 metre burst was only halted by desperate cover defence and wingman Pete Duggan being hauled down close to line.

Siddal moved up a gear after the interval, and when Irvine received his temporary marching orders, Blackburn stepped up to kick the penalty for 8-2.

A drop goal followed, and, with Irish struggling to sustain their intensity it was no real surprise when Law's charge created the position for Taylor to scamper over, effectively sealing the game with 15 minutes still to go.

Anthony Sawyer's try, in the gathering gloom two minutes from the end, brought the curtain down on a hotly contested final.

Siddal: Attwood; G. Blackburn, Marsh, Pearson, Duggan; Gudor, J. Blackburn; Law, Sanderson, Gent, J. Simeunovich, Smith, L. Simeunovich. Subs: S. Blackburn, Taylor, Ambler, Sawyer.

Halifax Irish: Holden; Midgley, Norman, Muxlow, Reed; Charlesworth, Holroyd; Copping, O'Byrne, Mudd, Clark, Brown, Bentley. Subs: Irvine, Taylor, Yarker, McCarthy.