Brods beaten by title hopefuls

The hosts confirmed their quality in a hard-fought match at Farr Moss but were denied a four-try bonus point by the determined visitors.

There was not much between the sides in the early exchanges as the home side kicked for position and Brods looked to break the Moortown defence with some strong running.

The Moortown ground has a cross field slope and their stand off Eddie Crossland used his knowledge of the pitch to keep play close to the bottom touch line.

Brods were first to break the defensive line with strong running by Joe Kafatolu and supporting fellow prop Bennie Pritchett almost made it to the try line.

Brods maintained the pressure and were rewarded with a penalty for a high tackle, kicked by Phil Town to give Brods a 3-0 lead on 25 minutes.

Moortown responded with a kick deep into Brods territory and after a series of rucks on the Brods line the home side’s powerful No 8 Bernie Taulealo forced his way over. A try was awarded even though many supporters thought the ball was not grounded over the line.

The game continued to be highly competitive and Brods enjoyed their best part of the game as the visiors’ scrum started to gain momentum.

When Moortown counter-attacked in a threatening move down the left they lost the ball and Harris Morris picked up in his own 22. His pace took him away from the covering defenders and as he bore down on the Moortown full back his strength and good feet took him round the last line of defence to score a superb try in the right hand corner. Town’s touchline conversion gave the Woodhead boys their interval lead.

The Leeds side made changes at half time and immediately took the game to Brods, scoring following several phases of possession. Powerful Kiwi Taulealo broke several tackles on the way to scoring his second try.

The conversion was missed but Moortown goalkicker Crossland was grateful for another opportunity after a high tackle and gave his side a 13-10 lead.

The game continued to be competitive with Moortown kicking for position and stifling Brods’ opportunities to counter-attack.

The deadlock was finally broken following a midfield run by Crossland. The ball was moved swiftly to the right wing, where winger Innes touched down. The conversion from the touchline extended the lead to 10 points.

Brods continued to battle and defended well to deny the home side a bonus point but could not break the home team’s equally resilient defence.