Leeds Tykes 35 Fylde RFC 15: Giving the league leaders a tough game

Fylde coaches Alex Loney and Chris Briers were presented with major headaches in terms of selecting a pack, with seven players missing.

That meant Freddie Deeks started at hooker, Greg Morgan and Lewis Quinn were a new second row partnership, while prop Corey Bowker and centre Sam Stott were very much out of position in the back row.

Leeds started strongly, kicking an early penalty to five yards out before a catch and drive was set up.

With Adam Brown looking as if he was going to score a 22nd try of the season, Fylde were adjudged to have dragged it down illegally.

The referee awarded a penalty try and yellow-carded Dave Fairbrother, leaving Fylde 7-0 down and without their skipper for the next 10 minutes.

They rose to the challenge, winning a penalty before the resulting lineout set up Fylde’s best phased play all season.

Nine or ten phases caused the Leeds defence into narrowing too much, enabling Will Hunt to kick out wide for Adam Lanigan to score a converted try.

Fylde continued to take the game to Leeds and, with Fairbrother back on, went ahead on 21 minutes.

A huge hit in midfield by Pete Altham allowed Bowker to turn over the ball before holes were created in the Leeds defence.

Hunt’s pass gave Jordan Dorrington space to break along the wing before Freddie Reader took the final pass to score and put Fylde 12-7 ahead.

Leeds responded six minutes later with a lineout near Fylde’s line resulting in a try for Brown, converted by Seremaia Turagabeci.

Both teams had their chances in the next 10 minutes before Leeds set up shop near the Fylde line again, only to be forced into touch.

However, Fylde’s lineout then misfired and Tom Williams crashed over, Turagabeci adding the conversion to make it 21-12 at the break.

Having had some slow starts to second halves this season, Fylde roared out of the traps.

Leeds’ Jack Smith was deemed to have knocked on deliberately five minutes into the half and was yellow-carded, Hunt landing the penalty to leave Fylde 21-15 behind.

Leeds shrugged off being a man down to score next as another penalty, lineout, catch and drive ended with Matt Burke touching down for a converted try.

Fylde kept plugging away and were extremely unlucky not to score twice in as many minutes, Cam Smith losing the ball when attempting to force his way over before Dorrington collected Hunt’s kick on the dive and saw the ball dislodged as his elbow hit the ground.

Leeds capitalised as Tom Williams made another long-range break, taking play deep into Fylde’s 22 where Tobias Williams eventually crashed over.

The conversion gave Leeds a healthy 35-15 lead with 16 minutes left as they saw out the game for their 22nd win from 23.

Leeds Tykes: Turagabeci, Evans (Keith), Venables, Tom Williams, Chitiyo, Watts, Laughton, Tobias Williams, Brown (Yorke), Dennis (Cordice, Dennis), Brady (Collins), Guthrie, J Smith, Burke, Brown (Walker).

Fylde RFC: Reader, Dorrington, Clayton (Turner), Forster, Lanigan (Gaughan), Hunt, Gaughan (C Smith), Rudkin (Rawlings), Deeks, Altham (King), Quinn, Morgan, Bowker, Stott, Fairbrother. Unused: Railton.