Cleckheaton met local rivals Morley on Saturday in a delayed start to the new season. Cleckheaton after relegation last season had 5 new recruits on display plus 2 players returning after spells at other clubs.
Morley kicked off on a bright and breezy afternoon and after scrum half Woolett had launched a towering kick , Morley knocked on and Cleckheaton should have taken advantage but a kick through by Noble went out on the full and from the scrum on halfway a missed tackle in midfield saw Morley winger Kinder score in the corner, conversion missed 0-5 after 3 minutes. 10 minutes later Morley doubled the lead after Cleckheaton were penalised and Morley secured possession at the line out. The first phase was stopped but when the ball came back , a quick switch to the blind side saw second row Caldwell crash over , 0-10 on 14 minutes. Cleckheaton hadn’t got off to a good start but opened their account with a 25 metre penalty for Dale Breakwell 3-10 on 23 minutes. On 25 minutes after multiple phases , Morley crossed for their 3rd try under the posts , Caldwell the scorer and the conversion was good 3-17. Niall Jackson had a try disallowed after referee Iain Craven saw an obstruction on a set move but on Cleckheaton’s next possession, some committed driving saw Woolett score next to the posts , Breakwell adding the conversion and at 10-17 at least the home team had a foothold. On the stroke of halftime , full back Silkstone , gained Morley a bonus point try 10-22 at the break.
Cleckheaton’s front row of Jackson , Rika-Rayne and Sowden took the ball up strongly throughout with Hawkstone and Pearson handling line out possession , Cleckheaton needed an early score and they did just that on 44 minutes with a try by replacement Jake McFarlin, converted by Breakwell, 17-22. On 58 minutes , more good work by the front row set up the field position and McFarlin was held up short of the line but Woolett was on hand to touch down for his second try, Breakwell adding the extras and Cleckheaton had the lead at 24-22. On 61 minutes it looked like Morley had gone over in the left corner but a magnificent cover tackle by Woolett denied the score. Morley were quickly on the attack and spread the ball right and Ryan scored in the right corner 24-27, the same player repeated the feat 3 minutes later to leave the score 24-34 with around 10 minutes to play. On 78 minutes , Cleckheaton tried a different tactic , a short chip over the top by Breakwell sat up nicely for Woolett to gather and score his hat trick on debut, Breakwell completed a 5 from 5 goal kicking performance and as the referee blew for full time , Morley had emerged deserved victors by 31-34. 5 points to Morley and 2 points for Cleckheaton in an entertaining game. Rory Woolett was Cleckheaton MoM with Silkstone receiving the B&M Collins pies for their performances. Next week , Cleckheaton make the short trip to Hipperholme to face rivals Old Brodleians, kick off is at 3:00pm.