Cleckheaton 39, Old Brodleians 15

Cleckheaton comfortably continued their unbeaten record in home matches this season.

To add to a midweek Centurion Yorkshire Cup victory over Sheffield Tigers, they have now succeeded in four straight league games at Moorend.

But here comes the rub – impregnable at home, they cannot win away, all five of their league trips resulting in defeat.

After watching his side use their greater power and nous to overcome their neighbours from Hipperholme, Cleckheaton coach Dave Harrison did give out some hope that the away sequence will end.

“We can’t seem to be able to field the same team from week to week,” he said.

“We have to make two, three or four changes every week and while that doesn’t seem to affect us at home, it doesn’t seem to help us away from home. But hopefully we will soon have some of our players back.”

Cleckheaton were missing influential forward Richard Piper and player-coach Pete Murphy in the centres on Saturday – and for most of the first half, a largely youthful Old Brodleians side proved a match.

After a Brodleians passage of play that must have amounted to double figures in phases to start off a derby that seemed to lack some passion, Cleckheaton went ahead.

Lee Queeley, who was originally named on the bench with Murphy starting, proved an elusive ball-carrier all afternoon in the centre and his break set up left winger Martin Woodhead for a close-in try on the left in the fourth minute.

Fly half Iain Gordon’s conversion made it 7-0 and he then swapped penalties with his opposite number, skipper Dan Wood, before adding another to make it 13-3.

The visitors, who often tried to move the ball wide without having sufficient punch to bust Cleckheaton’s generally solid defence, did score a try in the 26th minute.

After centre Nathan Scott had gone close, hooker Rob Jennings spun out of a tackle and went over, Wood converting for 13-10.

But just when it seemed that that would be the half-time score, Cleckheaton conjured up a piece of magical handling in time added on, right winger James Wilson scoring after good work by Woodhead.

In the second half, the home side’s muscle really began to tell, flanker Mark Sargeant getting on the end of a massive push, Ed Chappelow scoring from a well-executed catch-and-drive and hooker Steve Worsley crossing on the right. Winger Louie Butler responded with a late Brods try.