Buffaloes Too Strong For Rangers
by Andy Coldrick
Bradford Victoria Rangers 10 (6) v Bramley Buffaloes 52 (18)
Bramley Buffaloes registered their first win and points of the YML Division 2 campaign with a comfortable away win by 10-52 at Bradford Victoria Rangers on Saturday afternoon. This was their third consecutive away game so far, and despite a gutsy performance from Rangers and the best efforts of the referee, the Buffaloes were comfortable winners in a one-sided, stop-start game.
Bramley welcomed back Aaron Henry to the team from last season, Kurtis Ritchie was making his debut, and Garry Butterfield was on the bench after a season away. There was a late change to the team as Aaron Henry was delayed in arriving, Tom White moved from loose forward to full back, and Danny Baranyi started at loose forward. Aaron arrived about 15 minutes into the game.
From the kick-off Rangers knocked-on and from the resulting scrum Tom Barraclough had a strong run before the ball went wide to Ritchie who marked his debut with a try in the corner inside the first minute, despite carrying would be tacklers with him. A perfect settler for the team. Five minutes later and Tom Langton scored a rare try on the right-hand side, forcing his way over from 5m. Neither try was converted, Victoria Rangers, at last, got some ball and exerted some pressure on the Buffaloes line, they created half a chance with a well-flighted kick to Rob Brown’s wing. However, the ball was knocked on and came to nothing. On the back of some poor ball control and cheap penalties, Rangers had three sets on inside the Buffaloes 20m zone, however good solid defence saw the Buffaloes line remain intact. On 14 minutes Ritchie made it a double when he went 50m almost unopposed to stretch the lead to 0-14, McGill converting.
For the next 10 minutes, play started to settle into a familiar pattern for the afternoon with Rangers seeing a lot of the ball, mainly in the Buffaloes half, and the referee giving a series of random and bizarre penalties against the Buffaloes. During this period Rob Brown had a seemingly good try disallowed for a double movement and Rangers forced two more goal-line drop-outs with a good kicking game. Rangers full back Josh Hattle was their most creative and dangerous player, however they were not offering much more in attack other than plenty of endeavour. Curtis Sidebottom had a strong game throughout in both attack and defence and on 26 minutes he scored a well taken try from 15m bumping off several tacklers. The half closed in bizarre fashion when after a short kick through Fawthorp was adjudged by the referee to have got downward pressure on the ball to score on the stroke of half time. To everybody else in the ground, including the try scorer, he was a million miles from the ball. The half time score was 6-18, but in reality the Buffaloes should have much further ahead.
The second half in truth was a scrappy affair with flashes of slick, quick handling from the Buffaloes, interspersed with a string of penalties and decisions in favour of Victoria Rangers. However, Curtis Sidebottom continued to cause the home team problems and on the back of a strong 40m Romeo went over under the posts on 44 minutes to open his seasons account. Two further tries followed in quick succession, on 49 minutes after good work from Romeo and Joe Mathers, Nathan Hammond scored a deserved try, whilst 4 minutes later Cameron McLachlan scooted over from dummy half. In between Robinson squeezed over in the corner for Rangers, a soft try to concede.
Bramley added further scores through Romeo, Sidebottom and Brown with Romeo converting 4 out 5 tries.
The referee mysteriously blew for time 6 minutes early, but the game was long over as a contest.
This was a good display from the Buffaloes whose season is now up and running. Sterner tests await, however looking at the squad there should be no reason why we cannot recover lost early season ground and mount a serious challenge at the top of the table. The forwards look good with plenty of mobility, whilst the backs look to have pace and power, add to that the Romeo ‘x’ factor that he brings to the team and the side looks to have plenty of points in them. The next 4 or 5 games are all winnable and with home games to come, there should be no reason why we do not quickly move up the table,
Next week we are away again at near neighbours West Leeds when we may well come up against some of our old boys in the shape of Andy McGann, Sam Nicholls and Craig Green. It’s a 2.30 kick-off so get down and cheer on the Amber and Black – fighting back!. The week after we are at home for the first time this season against Hull Wyke.
Bradford Victoria Rangers – 1) Josh Hattle, 2) Jamie Kerr, 3) Sam Thornton, 4) Aiden Holmes, 5)Joe Lockwood, 6)Hayden Sugden, 7) Oscar Woodhead, 8) Jonny Fawthorp, 9)Jack Addison-Rhodes, 10) Luke Robinson, 11) Jake Swinscoe, 12) Luke Harris, 13) Jack Butterworth, 14) Aiden Scully, 15) Dom Christy, 16) Kaz Ahmed, 17) Kelvin Lockett
Tries – Fawthorp (39), Robinson (53)
Goals – Kerr (1/2)
Bramley Buffaloes – 1) Tom White, 2) Joe Mathers, 3) Nathan Hammond, 4) Kurtis Ritchie, 5) Rob Brown, 6) Connor McGill, 7) Brad Wilson, 8) Tom Barraclough, 9) Cameron McLachlan, 10) Charlie McMurray, 11) Tom Langton, 12) Curtis Sidebottom, 13) Danny Baranyi, Subs; 14) Aaron Henry, 15) Aiden Baranyi, 18) Ben Maynard-Worrincy, 17) Garry Butterfield
Tries – Ritchie (1 & 14), Sidebotton (26 & 66), Henry (44 & 60), Langton (5), Hammond (49), McLachlan (52), Brown (67)
Goals – McGill (2/5), Henry (4/5)