so.....where is our league this year ?  Very strong again i think and again, with some early indications of how things might end up.  My opinions.....

starting at the bottom.....it seems evident that both Westcliff and Barum are, quite literally, out of their league.

Barum seem a bit of a yoyo side.....too good for the SW league but well short of the requirements for survival in the grinder of Nat2s.  

I confess i was also thinking that the last relegation place (forgetting the new league structure next year) would be decided between Rochford and Hinckley, but both have shown significant improvement already and might yet drag others into the struggle against 14th place.  also confess to see the City side in their current situation, but they, alongside OA's, another team with relatively recent Nat1 provenance, are struggling so far.

At the top......well i thought the Choppers should and would have won the league last year, and i fully expect them to make amends in this one.  they are an outstanding team unit.....withe whole being greater than the sum of the component parts,,,,,very well done to the coaching team.  the pack is exceptional and they also have the benefit of the best half back partnership (imo) in Oulton and Honey.  the former a prolific tryscorer as well and the latter the best fly half in our leagu and maybe the one above.  i was surprised and perhaps, quite pleased, to see him still at the Recreation ground this year.....i thought he would go to Pirates or even Exeter.

I had thought too, that Clifton with their extensive Bristol DR cohort, might challenge them, and i guess they may yet do so. bit\ut two early defeats have set them back.  The horrible stuffing from Choppers is a definite setback.

Esher too, had clear ambitions for this year and may yet improve, but early results would seem to indicate that they have not (yet at least) got enough.j

perhaps the two over achievers at this early stage would be Dings.....who seem to have an excellent pack, and but for a few points in a couple of games would be much higher.......and my lot.

The Raiders.....well....i confess that after we lost several of our better players to more monied teams, i was worried about how we might stay out of the relegation zone this year.

our new management team and coaching staff seem to have done an outstanding job and we have recruited very well.

As ever, we are showing ourselves to be a tryscoring team.  from what i have seen so far, our pack and particularly our set piece, are not consistently good enough to win this league.  That said....we are still missing some incredibly impactful players from our back line and already have at least 7 or 8 out injured.  i think that with luck on that front we could get even stronger.

i am hoping we will make top four

good luck to all with injuries and i also hope that the chaps at the bottom at the mo can turn it around.  great league as ever.

ooh.....forgot the bloo%y Hawks.  they look dangerous too.....another very good pack.  hope they get relegated though  

Well nobody will yo-yo this season.

With probably 4 and possibly six  Nat 1 teams going up to the expanded championship - and the expansion of Nat 2 with a third division there will be no relegation.

If they remain stronger than the other SW sides, they will probably not be relegated next season either.

At this early stage, the schedule can allow for a certain rose tinting (or the opposite) when looking at the table in isolation. This year most teams will face a veritable murder's row of games with Redruth, Clifton and Esher all inside a four week window which will go a long way to sorting the men from the boys. 

A final thought, the last team relegated from Nat 1 who have managed to climb the ladder back was Cinderford after a two year stay. Of the recently promoted sides, Canterbury alone have returned to grace us with their presence (OE's fall being another matter entirely). A testament to the strength of the league? I sincerely hope so.

Darth I see you haven’t lost your sense of humour over the pandemic!!😂😂 I think the team to beat is Redruth, pity our game was postponed, but I fully support the decision. OA’s were certainly very unlucky at not winning against them down there the other weekend,  I thought Clifton might of edged it last weekend but The Reds had other ideas! Hopefully my beloved Hawks will keep the pressure on Redruth for the top two position, but I guess Leicester, Esher and maybe the other Raiders, Guernsey, who have started very well and who we play next, will be up there!

As for the bottom three I can’t argue what you have said.

As for the other Raiders in Worthing, your fairy tale start, will come crushing down soon, so a mid table finish will beckon you!😂😂 see you on the 13th?!

undercover......welcome....i have....not to my recollection, encountered you before.  but excellent post.....i agree with most of what you say and in particular, the order in which the challengers will line up behind the Choppers.

Nick....you are as ever, over excited about the prospects of your one dimensional team .  get some talented backs at last and you might be competitive.

unfortunately, i have reached a stage of life where i am uncomfortable driving long distances in the dark, so unless i can get one of my rugby mates to drive me, i  will miss out on my usual journey to Dry Leas to pick up the 5pts.  Be assured however, that if i can make it i will let you know so you can buy me some beers. 

agree with 999.....Guernsey were decent at our place, but individual errors from one of our players made the scoreline look closer than it should have been.  suspect you will force errors.....kick to the corner and maul it over for a win....yawn...

Steve...mostly agree.  have you looked at our website and our squad ?  53 members now...confessedly.....this is historically just about how many you need to get through an Nat2S season, but we have some extraordinary quality that might return ?

i am particularly excited by the presence of Anscombe at 10 again.....also rhe return of Cleaves.  i continue to think it impossible that Blewett will actually play.....but if he does.....then watch out Choppers !  

let's start with the big wins.

No surprise to anybody i suppose, that Choppers march serenely on with a big win at Westcliff.

I was surprised however, at the scale of the thumping Barnes got at BSE.  Whenever i watch the Barn Elms boys they look a really competitive outfit and if you are not properly at it on the day, they will turn you over.  As it stands, they might be pleased that there is no relegation this year, otherwise they might be looking nervously over their shoulders as both Hinckley and Rochford seem to be on a bit of a roll ?

My lot fielded a slightly depleted side against Barum, who i thought, were pretty poor defensively.  While we scored nine tries, i left the Rugby Park feeling a little flat, as we butchered another half dozen chances and our continuing indiscipline allowed our opponents three scores.  Perhaps though, our promising start has left me with unrealistic expectations at this early stage ....probably so  

As to the tight games.....

Let's start with Guernsey.  After watching them at our place i was quite impressed and thought they might make 7th or 8th in the league,  They are unbeaten since and put a real marker down on Saturday by beating Hawks (always a pleasure to see ).  Are we perhaps, witnessing the birth of n second Channel Island powerhouse ?  A la Jersey ?  Not short of a few bob thereabouts.

Hinckley next.....they have had the toughest of early fixtures and it would seem, given a very good account of themselves on most occasions.....and are perhaps getting stronger.  Although they have only won once so far, their negative points difference of just -6 shows how near they have been to an outstanding start.  Not sure about their squad depth, but a mid-table finish seems more likely and overall, a much better effort than their last journey south.  A good addition to our league. 

By contrast, although Esher will be pleased with the points, i suspect they are falling a little short of their lofty ambitions.

Clifton v OA's ?  i am going to give up trying to predict either of these teams results, in fact i suspect that they are both deliberately conspiring to ruin my prediction league season......and to be fair....making a pretty good job of it 

i had thought that the Sumpter lead Lions might push on this season, but another away defeat would seem to infer that they are much the same place, albeit still strong at home.  in order to improve their prospects, i would strongly recommend that they rest all of their best players next week.  They seem very tired to me 

Otherwise, i echo Steve's thoughts posted above....well done to Rochford....that looked a nailed on win for Dings to me.....who i would have thought would have had the bulk to nullify the Rochford pack. 

hopefully, we can tempt some fans of all these sides to tell us a little more.  

  

I seem to have a vague memory of him spending time with the Tigers ?

At least this year, you can experiment and take the time to grow your younger players on, without fear of relegation.

Curiously, i was sent a link today and read your well balanced match report ( i did not think your lineout that bad  ), and rewatched a video of the game.  dunno why, but Barum looked a fair bit better on the video.  i thought your 9, 12 and 13 all showed well, but the wingers need to defend better imo.

it is a savagely competitive league and as you point out, squad depth is vital.  We have 8 or 9 out ourselves i think......already. 

best of luck with the rest of the season and i look forward to future updates. 

good idea to fake an Covid outbtreak and avoid a visit to the Recreation ground though 

I believe he's injured, not certain, Nick Cairns had a game with the Tigers, don't remember Ed doing so, but could be wrong.

I had thought that there were three teams that i might reply upon in terms of predicting their results....Redruth, Barum and Westcliff.  The latter did not let me down and will likely, be embarrassed about their result today.  thankfully, we do not see teams ship 100pts or more in this competitiveleague and i hope for their sakes they can improve.  otherwise...Clifton are clearly the top points scorers in the league and although i have not seen them yet....it would appear that if you let them have the ball they will hurt you badly 

Next up.....what happened at the Recreation ground ?  it would be great if we could find either an Choppers or Esher fan to let us know  At face value....an tremendous win for Esher....very well done.  Are they now announcing themselves as potential league winners ?  were choppers missing Oulton or Honey ?

Hard for us neutrals to understand.

Well done to Barum and I suspect that their 16th man came to their rescue again.  i waws still surprised that the Rochford pack.....the team have been on a great run of late.....did not find a wayy to win this one.

what i thought would be a high scoring defeat at Goose poo green, turned into a low scoring draw.  as ever......commentary welcome from anybody that was at Barn Elms today.

OA's erratic form continues and they were emphatic winners in a tryfest at Woolams.  Dings did well to score yet another 5 tries but their defence let them down again conceding 8.

Hawks creep forward......edging another incredibly tight game.  while they will still fancy their chances and have a pretty decent pack, they have just two TBP's so far this year and that is likely to cause them problems in the near term if they can't fix it.  hope not 

lastly......Guernsey find a way to win their 7th game on the trot and go top of the league 

outstanding stuff.  that said and in the absence of any Guernsey posters, hee hee, i still don't think that they will finish in the top 4. brest of luck to them though and they are a thoroughly combative side.

Oh.....just realised i forgot my lot.......was n't there.  seriously weakened side......seemed to defend well.  very well done to the lads wearing the shirt on the day.  still hoping for a top 4 finish for us 

Turning round Esher scored first before the inevitable Cornish fight back. They got 3 tries but a missed conversion left them needing two tries to win and they didn’t get it.

Esther’s backs seem now a settled, effective unit but our forwards still need more strength and bulk. Missing 3 from the squad today, 1 of whom returned from injury on Friday night.

Chopper10 

Hi Darth, Strangely enough Barum massacred the Rochford pack in the first half so much so that Rochford replaced two of their pack after 30 minutes, after that it was more even but Barum always had the edge up front.
Rochford scored their only try after 5 minutes but never really threatened a lot after that. The second half was one way traffic with Barum camped in the Rochford half most of the time (often in the red zone) but it only yielded one more try - fair play to the Rochford defence but to be honest Barum should have been out of sight with a little more patience.
Still a way to go for Barum but we are going in the right direction.

Esher host Clifton next week and Choppers travel to the island.  Fascinating encounters.  I look forward to forecasting the results incorrectly yet again 

Best of luck with the rest of the season Barum man.....as ever, home form seems pretty good, but it is hard for a neutral to see your lads climbing out of the bottom three without an distinct change in away form .

I agree entirely Darth ... just hope we can scrape a few home wins to keep a bit of respectability although its going to be tough for sure.

It was a good win for Lions, although I predicted 5-0 to Lions, so we did better than I thought we would.

We'll 'ave yer at our place 

Also, you only have WilHuckleberryson on loan.....so enjoy him while you can 

Terrific player, wish he could have played more often for Taunton than he did, is he returning to Worthing?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI4glvHmhwM" rel="nofollow - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI4glvHmhwM

Excellent win by the Molesey Rd boys at home to a very strong (if erratic) Clifton side.  They are on a good run now.

The Choppers will be very pleased to get back into their winning ways with a tough fixture away to the islanders, who were top but now in the blink of an eye, drop to 4th.  Guernsey seem to be consistently competitive and it will be interesting to see how high they can finish ?

The Hawks dominant pack produced another win....this time away at Merton Lane. They have games in hand and will no doubt, move a long way up the league from their current, lowly 10th position.  They still however, only have two TBP's and this may yet prove a problem for them .

Dings dispatched Barum.....who scored 3 tries again but their defence on the road is a recurrent problem.  I can only feel sorry for Westcliff.....crushed at home by OA's.....shipping another 13 tries. ouch

Well done to Lions......edging a tight game away to Rochford, who have proven themselves a tough nut to crack, particularly at home.

Lastly, another good win for BSE.....who appear to be in very good form.  Free scoring and beating an combative Hinckley side who have done pretty well on the road, but with little reward so far. 

Thoughts from anyone who attended any of these games today......eyewitness accounts always valuable.  

So a great first half at Redruth, a great second half against Clifton, looking forward to the full 80. 

I think he must have concentrated more on University rugby therefore limiting his appearances at Taunton. Glad he's still active and enjoying his rugby

i thought your tight five were excellent in the loose and if that power could be harnessed without the errors, i would agree that much more could be achieved.  The skipper Seabright was outstanding, though the whole Barnes pack ran out of puff a little towards the end....imo....against their much lighter opponents.

In addition of course, and never to be forgotten, you have Josh Hammett.  He has been a pain the ar$e  for maybe 10yrs now......about time he retired   he had another very good game.....kicking from hand and tee peg excellent as usual.

In our defence, I will say that there is a fair chance that you will meet a different Raiders side in the return at Barn Elms.  I am hoping that we will have a number of injured backs returning around the xmas period.  Historically, we pretty much only score backs tries but have to some extent, needed to reinvent ourselves of late due to injuries.  We scored four tries from mauls i think, despite our generally misfiring lineout.....probably an all time club record 

Best of luck with the rest of your season

Most will not realise, but in the whole of level 4 history, Matt is clearly the top points scorer with over 2300pts.  This perhaps,is not toooo much of a surprise for a player of his quality and amazing longevity. what might come as a greater surprise, is that he is also the all time top tryscorer. I think his 5 scores so far this year have edged him past the legendary Phil Chesters of Ealing.....with 122 tries.

Great stuff Matt.....long may it continue   Tremendous club servant. Legend.

excuse the tub thumping....much deserved in this instance I feel

Agreed, a regular thorn in our side!

Injun.....no doubt the life of any half back is a damn sight easier with plenty of front foot ball......a luxury many have to do without.

3pts in the prediction league does not seem like enough ?  Worth some bonus points really 

I wasn’t at the game, but I just didn’t predicted this result! Hinckley results have been close so far this season, to go 0-28 was a fantastic performance, well played Hinckley. Watch out Worthing for the backlash next week!! 😜

As we see nearly every year in this league, nearly every team can beat every other on any given day. those of us who foolishly try and predict the results each week, can for the greater part, never know the composition of the teams that are fielded.  Injuries, particularly when they are to key players, can have an significant impact and often do.

So squad depth is ever the issue and it will come into play this year too.

Hawks bounced back nicely this week and most encouragingly for them, seem to have got their back line firing at last.  Lousy timing imo 

Agree with Tiger about the current top 2, but all of the current top 8 will all still fancy their chances if they can put a bit of a run together.  There will e some fascinating matchups between them all in the weeks ahead and also, plenty of potential banana skins in away games against nearly all of the other Nat2S sides too 

So six fairly predictable home wins this week, with only poor Westcliff bucking the trend.  

There are some brilliant fixtures leading up to xmas......much for us all to look forward to.

As ever.....commentary from anybody attending any of yesterdays games would be much appreciated.   I did not get to Dry Leas this year unfortunately.

Also.....amongst players and clubs, it is possible that opinions might be mixed.  Yes, it is an hell of a journey, but it is an iconic venue and a tremndous challenge....perhaps savoured by some.  I certainly remember our first win there.

Saw the picture of the Audi on social media. Bad form from whoever parked it there, still, time for more "tribute"

Golden Jackal wrote: Gary Kingdom has been a perennial thorn in BSE's side, but an outstanding player and decent bloke...I think he kicked a last min pen for Taunton the other week, but is not always starting these days

Yes Gary is still playing (I think he is 38 now) though not every week and his experience and organisation are missed when he doesn't. 

He did indeed kick a penalty with the last kick of the game the other week to beat Rams, something he has done on more than one occasion (I'm sure Henley supporters look forward to seeing his name on the team sheet ). He shows no sign of losing his enthusiasm for the game

We won a great deal of ball on the gain line......but box kicked it away repeatedly and ineptly, only to have the clear MoM Joe Wilson....their fly half....take yet another 40m out of us.

3pts lost for us and very well done Hinckley.  Expect an upper mid-table finish for them this year 

Otherwise.......our two league favourites.....Choppers and Esher.....pushed on well.  great effort from the City Side to halt this progress but not quite good enough.

good wins for Clifton and Hawks......and both will think that they can still get themselves into this battle.

great league......lots of good games today....very tight.  best of luck to all 

have an extra one for me as I am off the booze at moment

That seemed like quite a turnaround by Westcliff.......still losing but keeping it very tight and close to picking up an LBP ?

I guess that the surprise result of the day was Raiders win at the Recreation Ground ?  I was not at the game but benefited from an plethora of text messages from a mate in situ. It seems we played into the wind (gale) in the first half and managed to keep the ball in hand successfully.....leading 5-10 at oranges.

I think we scored two nice backs tries in the second half to build a decent, two score lead.  I imagine that as ever, the Choppers pack launched an determined late attack trying to get back into the game and indeed, drew two yellow cards in the last 5mins, but did not get over the line.

A very pleasing win for the Raiders contingent.

After the Hinckley debacle the previous week....i was talking with fellow poster Wigwam....and we both said we would not be surprised if we then went to Redruth and won.  Amusingly, neither of us had the courage to predict it   

Shame the Esher/Guernsey encounter was called off, that would have been a really interesting game.

The Rochford pack seem to have given a good account of themselves again today, picking up a good LBP and showing what a threat they are if you are not 'on it'.  Hinckley continue to move up the table.

I do wonder if perhaps, the City Side are running into a bit of form.  While they have not won any of their last four games, they have come close on each occasion and seem to be defending better.  This league is quite tight enough without them getting involved 

Clifton did pick up the win, but a much more narrow one than I had expected.  Big game away at The Rugby Park next week. 

Another good 5pts for the Hawks.....who with their game in hand are now well in contention.  Dings again show they have a few tries in them, home or away, and picked up a good LBP.

OA's are a real curiosity to me, and perhaps the most difficult team to predict ?   They have had a number of outstanding wins, but some unexpected defeats  ?  That said.....Lions have won a succession of tight, low scoring games.  I've not seen them play yet but it seems that only Redruth have a better defence,  They are up to 6th now and well in contention themselves.

As ever, I am hoping that posters who were at games today can give us a better insight.

 

All I can say come on the Lions

Result of the day for me was the crushing win for OA's in Guernsey.  After a very good start, the islanders seem to be falling away.  I did say I thought that they would finish outside the top 4......and that looks increasingly likely to be the case.  

I remain confused by OA's consistency but this was great win on the road.

Esher continue to look impressive and that must have been a stunning game to watch at the Haberden. 

A 12 try extravaganza for the lucky fans.  Esher now perhaps looking favourites ?

I was expecting a similar high scoring affair at The Rugby Park, but witnessed an incredibly intense, high tempo exchange between two very good sides.  The consistent level of physicality, right across the park, made it look much more like a Nat1 game to me.  

In fact, i would have to say I cannot a recall s season with so many very good sides in it.  The top 8 are so close and will no doubt, continue to beat each other as the season progresses   

FWIW.....I thought Raiders were the better side on the day, and after dominating both territory and possession the first half, should have been at least two scores clear at the interval.  But our lineout malfunctioned yet again at key moments and attacking opportunities were squandered.  

The Clifton front row were quality, but arguably matched by Raiders.  The two most impactful opponents for me though, were the 5 Harper, and the 12 Nel, who was outstanding.

A game of tight margins and we had both a conversion and a penn hit the post.  no complaints though.....Clifton took their chances, punished our mistakes and edged a good game of rugby.

Are there a few cracks starting to show at Redruth ?  A good 5pts from them today and Rochford is not an easy place to visit, but i think we all expected them to win this one more easily ?

Another efficient job by the Hawks.....by no means a given winning 5-0 at Barnstaple....I suspect that the addition of Will Crow to their match day team has been an tremendous fillip .   

As expected......Hawks too are well in contention now.

The Hinckley lads had another good day on the road, scoring another 4 tries, but Dings had the better of another entertaining encounter with 4 tries of their own.

The City side did their job against Westcliff......not much else to say there.

overall......i think that there are 7 sides that still think that they can win this league.  it's going to be fun   

Normally I can pinpoint where things went wrong in a defeat but struggling this time

Clifton to their credit kept at it and took their opportunities so well done them. 

No problem the guys health is the most important thing.

OA's doing my head in again.  how did they manage that ?  Though I confess I was probably influenced by Honestinjun telling us they had seven second teamers out.......even more surprising or low animal cunning from Injun ? 

That said.....there were several other scores of note.

Hawks seem to be struggling against sides that can match their impressive pack.....and back row in particular ?  They are still well in contention but this was a second surprise home defeat (for me) 

Very well done Lions and a TBP too ?  rare for them.  Are they too now setting their stall out for a title 

challenge.  I thought that very unlikely as they don't score enough points (usually).

Choppers and Esher.....both with a game in hand, seem to be building a bit of a gap at the top now ?

That said, the former are not winning as impressively as they did in the earlier part of the season and Esher are starting to look favourites for me.  They will probably bring significant travelling support to the Rugby Park next week

The City side have been on a decent run of performances of late and i expected them to give a good account of themselves at Molsey Rd.....but Esher put a nil on them while scoring a bonus point themselves......impressive.

Another 8 tries for our league top scorers Clifton.....Rochford are no pushovers and the Bristol boys remain well in the hunt.  They have a great deal of pace and power out wide if they can win enough ball.

in form Hinckley dispatched Barnum as expected and continue to move up the table.

I hope that both of our northern visitors are enjoying their Nat2S experience this year....i believe it prepares them very well for success when they decide to return north.

I did not get to Westcliff today......pleased to hear from anybody who did actually join the Raid.  shocked to see us go 12-0 down but also pleased with the recovery.  FWIW.....i suspect my lot will be a stronger side in the second half.....we have an unusually big squad (for us) this year and may yet bring it to bear.

so we reach half way in our season......and a great one it has been so far.  I change my mind most weeks about how it will end up.  but for now at least......i think the bottom three will stay where they are and also the top 6 .....though much as we have seen in seasons past can change after xmas.

good luck all.....

I am really hoping that covid issues do not presage another foreshortened season.  It is a worry, though we have a month long break coming up.  With a bit of luck things might calm down over this period and we can return to relative normalcy ?

I'm sure the 6 Lions fans are gutted 

Thanks to Nick for the latest scores today.......were you at either Barn Elms or Barnstaple Nick ?

If not, perhaps Honestinjun can tell us more about that game ?

I can imagine that the Dings lads will be a bit cheesed off losing at home to Clifton today, after scoring 4 tries before HT....it seems that a dogged Clifton edged the game through the boot of Luke Cozens.

yet another win for Choppers and although Barum are no rollover at home, i suspect that the Redruth side from earlier in the season would have wrapped up an TBP with some ease.  But still top, though they may be looking anxiously over their shoulders in the new year.

A decent and expected win for Rochford against Westcliff.....who battle on admirably.  it does seem strange to me to to see bot these sides in our league but no Southend ?  what has happened to them ?

looking forward to the 8/1 when the league resumes.....and hoping Covid is coming under control.

happy xmas and new year to all.  

Wonderful to see such sportsmanship. A fine example of what our wonderful game is about 

Hi Darth,

I didn’t go to Barnes, but I did go to Barnstable. Good result for us in North Devon, it took 25 mins for the first score!Barnstaple looked dangerous on the break, but it was our outstanding defence and the pack was the difference.

I did go to Henley last weekend to see us against Leicester Lions. After the previous week I had good expectations of a good win? Lions were outstanding and well deserved winners, one stage we were 14? points behind and came close at the end.

Didn’t know about the Barnes incident yesterday, but full credit for the lads of what they did, especially what had happened to us on the first game of the season. Like someone said earlier, it’s not about winning and money it’s sportsmanship and friendship, that’s what rugby is all about?

Nick

cracking result at the Recreation ground and as I said, i was tempted to predict it (epic fail again )

Hardly a disaster, but are the wheels loosening on the Choppers wagon ?

OA's are a pain in the ar$e......i get their result wrong every week  ......i wish they would make their minds up     very good win at Merton Lane....that place turns into a bog when it is wet and normally, the City Side are adept at using the conditions and the slope to their advantage.  So OA's moving into contention or just trying to fool me again (not difficult). 

A convincing 6 try win for high scoring Clifton.  I thought that in form Lions might press them very close. but appears not to have been the case.  Sitting on top again now.

Esher are very close behind and edged another high scoring home game .....this time against Dings, despite being outscored by 5 tries to 4.  It is now looking like Esher and Clifton are the form sides......though there is still a long way to go and many of the top 6/7 play each other in the weeks ahead.

Quick segue.....about this time of year, i normally ask if anyone has opinions as to the overachiever and underachiever of the year in our league ?

For me, the underachiever is not obvious, though I would pick BSE, whom many often expect to do better than they actually do.  I think that they themselves will have fallen well short of their ambitions this year. 

But great credit should go to Hinckley.  They are free scoring and have amassed an amazing 15 bonus points   As ever.....fine margins in this league, but not much would have needed to change for them to have been in the top 6.  They have outscored a few good sides only to come out on the wrong end of the result.

Lastly......my lot.  We took a slightly depleted side (from my uninformed perspective) to the Haberden....battled hard and somehow managed to come away with a result.....despite playing the first 10mins of the second half with 13 men and all of it with 14.  Very well done to all of our lads wearing the shirt today.....kept us in some sort of contention. punch on lads