Heat, Hustle, and Hat-Tricks: Buffaloes Outgun Castleford
By Devon Johnson
On a scorching afternoon, the Buffaloes travelled to Castleford for the third round of the Trophy competition, facing a tough Panthers side under blazing sunshine. With a number of regulars unavailable, Bramley were forced into multiple positional changes, with several players pulling on the black and amber kit for the first time this season.
It was the Panthers who opened the scoring early. In just the 3rd minute, Bramley gained possession after a knock on. They worked hard and ploughed down the field with each play of the ball. Castleford intercepted one of the passes but knocked on in the process, but confusion reigned as the referee allowed play to continue. The ball was quickly flung wide to the Panthers’ winger, who ran in for a converted try. 6 – 0 to the hosts.
Despite the early setback, Bramley dug in. For the next ten minutes, the Buffaloes worked hard, completing sets and turning the ball over deep in the Panthers’ half. Their persistence paid off in the 20th minute when Charlie and Doyle punched holes through the middle. The ball went through the hands and found Marcus, who showed his trademark footwork, stepping past the cover defence to dive in at the corner. The conversion drifted wide in the wind, but the Buffaloes were on the board. Score: 6 – 4.
Castleford responded five minutes later. A promising Bramley set was undone by a forward pass, handing the hosts possession. From the resulting scrum, their fullback broke through a small gap to score under the posts. The simple conversion pushed the Panthers ahead to 12 – 4.
Unfazed, the Buffaloes hit back with grit and power. A fumble from Castleford saw the ball stripped cleanly in the tackle. Bramley surged forward and Kieran, running into a wall of defenders, twisted and spun his way out of the tackle to plant the ball just left of the uprights. The conversion was slotted over, and Bramley were right back in it at 12 – 10.
But Castleford weren’t done yet. A Buffaloes knock-on handed Castleford a scrum close to the line. Despite some resolute defence from Wilko and Doyle, the Panthers shifted the ball wide to exploit an overlap and cross again. Try converted. 18 – 10.
Bramley came roaring back from the restart as Castleford failed to gather the kick-off, forcing a dropout from under the posts. A penalty for a dangerous tip tackle on Wilko gave the Buffaloes great field position and with just minutes to play in the half, they tried to recreate their earlier success down the wing. A wide ball from Codey to Marcus looked promising, but it didn’t quite stick, and the chance went begging.
Half-time: Castleford Panthers 18 – 10 Bramley Buffaloes
The second half didn’t start as planned, with the kick-off going dead and gifting Castleford possession deep in Buffaloes territory. But Bramley defended bravely and capitalised on a Panthers’ knock-on. Charlie charged downfield with a defender clinging to his back. A slick offload to Cam set the attack in motion and being the stronger, fitter team, the Panthers simply couldn’t keep up. A penalty for offside followed and Doyle came agonisingly close to the line. Charlie took the ball from the dummy half and with no defenders in sight, dove over untouched. The conversion was successful bringing the score to 18 – 16.
Just three minutes later, the Buffaloes struck again. A bustling set through the middle ended with Taz making a half-break, linking with Kieran who, under pressure, offloaded back to Taz. The ball then found Cam, who darted over the line and finished off a flowing move. The conversion sailed between the sticks – and Bramley had the lead for the first time, 18 – 22.
With momentum now firmly behind them, Bramley kept their foot on the gas – and it was the Lewis ‘Jono’ Johnson show from here on out.
In the 50th minute, a Castleford dropout gave Bramley attacking possession. Taz bulldozed his way through defenders, falling just short. Kieran also tested the line but was stopped, and then the ball was fired wide to Jono, who finished in the right corner. The swirling wind proved too strong for the conversion, but the Buffaloes extended their lead to 18 – 26.
The second of Jono’s three tries followed shortly after a scrappy passage of play featuring several knock-ons from both teams. Bramley finally secured possession 20 metres out, and after repeated pressure on the line, the ball found Jono again. Diving low, he managed to ground it just before being bundled into touch – a real contender for try of the season. Another missed conversion in the breeze, but the Buffaloes were pulling away at 18 – 30.
Jono wasn’t done yet. In the 70th minute, a high shot on Taz gave Bramley the perfect attacking platform ten metres out. The ball was shifted wide to Jono, who was waiting on the wing. With no defenders in sight, he calmly strolled over to complete a memorable hat-trick. The kick drifted wide, but the damage was done; 18 – 34 to Bramley.
Full-time: Castleford Panthers 18 – 34 Bramley Buffaloes
In sweltering conditions, this was a performance full of determination and resilience from the entire team. Charlie and Taz were relentless throughout – tackling hard, gaining metres, and setting the tone. Jono marked his first appearance of the season with a stunning hat-trick, earning plenty of cheers from the Bramley faithful.
But your reporter’s Man of the Match goes to Wilko. His defensive efforts were tireless, he made critical yards with ball in hand, and on more than one occasion scooped up loose possession to swing momentum back in Bramley’s favour. A standout performance in a hard-fought win.
Next week, the Buffaloes are back on the road as they take on Illingworth away. Let’s keep this momentum rolling!
Panthers: 1) Ryan Kirkwood, 2) Logan Benn, 3) Joshua Thornton, 4) Lewis Ransome, 5) Christopher Mann, 6) Declan McCall, 7) McKenzie Coulson, 8) Carl Etherington, 9) Jake Smith, 10) Craig Smith, 11) Kieran Rainey, 12) Reece Henderson, 13) Dale Waring, Subs (All Used); 14) Joe Day, 15) Darren Coulson, 16) Drew Wright, 17) Nathaniel Mallinson,
Buffaloes: 1) Codey Downey, 2) Marcus White, 3) Michael Wright, 4) Thomas Langton, 5) Ramsey, 6) Cameron McGill, 7) Kieran McFarlane, 8) Charlie McMurray, 9) Lewis Johnson, 10) Jacob Oldroyd, 11) Jake Doyle, 12) Ben Wilkinson, 13) Cameron McLachlan ©, Subs (All Used); 14) Thomas Jenkins, 15) Elliot Carter, 16) Jordan Wegg.
Tries: White (20), McFarlane (30), McMurray (43), McGill (46), Johnson (50, 60, 70)
Goals: McGill (30, 43, 46)
