Buffaloes Come Out on Top In Feisty Clash
The Buffaloes travelled to Siddal to face them for the second time inside a week. This was also the Buffaloes fifth game in 3 weeks. The game was peppered with bizarre penalties, sin binnings and the referee’s whistle.
The game didn’t start the way Buffaloes Coach, Steve Gill, had wanted, when in the 5th minute, when Siddal centre, Chester Butler crashed through the Buffaloes defence to open the scoring, with Winger Dominic Horn adding the conversion to give Siddal a 6 point lead.
The Buffaloes quickly hit back in the 11th minute when Full Back Aaron Henry gathered up a kick from Ben Dean to score a converted try, with Stevie Suddards adding the conversion, levelling the scores at 6 all.
Butler was over for his second in the 17th minute when he stormed through some paper-thin defence for an unconverted try, giving the home side the lead again 10-6.
In the 21st minute, Aaron Henry was sin binned for an alleged trip, and whilst he was off the field Chester went over for his hat trick in the 29th minute, when in a one on one tackle he stripped the ball and raced away for the try, converted again by Horn, giving Siddal a 16-4 lead.
In the 37thminute Butler was sin binned for dissent, and a minute later the Buffaloes were over with Matty Harding scoring a try, converted by Suddards, narrowing the gap to 16-12.
In the first set after half time the Buffaloes were on the attack, and on the last tackle, Man of the Match Robin Wilks somehow got the ball free from a four man tackle, Craig Boot picked up the pass and fed winger Liam Copland for a try out wide. Suddards was unsuccessful with the conversion from 10 metres short of the touchline, but the scores were level at 16 all.
In the 44th minute Alex Brier was sin binned for dissent. Siddal tried to capitalise with the extra man advantage but the Buffaloes defence stood strong and scrambled to cover where there were any gaps.
In the 56th minute the Buffaloes were in again, when the returning Omar Al Rawi latched on to a superb ball from Dean to stroll through the defensive line for a try under the black dot, with Suddards again on target, giving the Buffaloes the lead for the first time, 16-22.
Three minutes later Craig Boot, popped up with the ball at acting half and saw a yawning gap in front of him and strolled over the line for a try with Suddards adding the extras, increasing the lead to 16-28.
In the 62nd minute, Jonny Bradley was bizarrely sin binned for an alleged swinging arm. The referee seemed intent on giving as much field possession to the home side, but the Buffaloes defence stood strong and rallied time after time.
With two minutes of normal time on the clock, and with the ball in hand, full back Henry was again sin binned and as he was leaving the field the ball was throw at him by one of the Siddal players, Henry turned to face down the aggressor and was sent off by the referee. Shortly afterward he blew for time.
A relieved Buffaloes team left the field applauded by their enthusiastic supporters, their minds already on the next assignment, Oulton Raiders on Wednesday.
Game Breaker: Two Buffaloes Tries either side of half time, gave the Buffaloes a lift in performance that Siddal weren’t able to match.
Siddal: 1) Tom Brook, 2) Matthew Prest, 3) Ben West, 4) Chester Butler, 6) Dominic Horn, 7) Thomas Hirst, 8) Robert Bradley, 9) Kyle Ackroyd, 5) Will Forsythe, 10) Danny Richardson, 11) Connor McCallum, 12) Zach Brennan, 13) Dominic Booth, Subs; 14) Tom Ettenfield, 15) Tom White, 16) James Hanson, 17) Louis Hobbs
Tries: Butler (5, 17, 29)
Goals: Horn x 2
Buffaloes: 1) Aaron Henry, 2) Garry Butterfield, 3) Omar Al Rawi, 4) Matty Harding, 5) Liam Copland, 6) Stevie Suddards, 7) Ben Dean, 8) Sam Nicholls, 9) Craig Boot, 10) Dave Parker, 11) Alex Brier, 12) Aaron Blake, 13) Jonny Bradley, Subs; 14) Robin Wilks, 15) Andrew Hepworth, 18) Jerome Malcolm, 17) Anthony Mills.
Tries: Henry (11), Harding (38), Copland (41), Al Rawi (56), Boot (59)
Goals: Suddards x 4
Men of the Match
Siddal: Dom Horn
Buffaloes: Robin Wilks