After losing three on the bounce for the first time in three years, the Wetherby boys welcomed Old Crossleyans to Grange Park looking to stop the rot and reboot their season. On a dry afternoon, Wetherby approached the game looking nervous after seeing frailties in their game over the past few weeks.

The game started with a show of intent from the visitors as the looked to target Wetherby man mountain Elliott Lloyd Kinsey Griffiths. Fortunately he's carved from strong Welsh slate and gave us good go forward. Wetherby were unable to hang onto possession and gave Cross a foothold in the game. Wetherby gave away early penalties as they tried to interpret he referee's view on the game. Cross capitalised on the penalties and some abysmal Wetherby defence to score under the sticks ten minutes into the game to pile the pressure even further onto Wetherby. 0-7.

Wetherby held the upper hand at scrum time, with part-time prop, part-time rally driver Scotty Wallis showing his hulk-like strength on the tight-head side, however it was again a tale of poor ball retention as Cross broke again. Unfortunately Billy Cale joined the long Wetherby injury list as he sprained his ego whilst missing a one-on-one tackle. This brought about a re-shuffle and gave Ed Blackwell a chance to make his debut. Ed's impact with ball in hand was instant as he carried impressively, despite being given service like a slip fielders catching practice from Alex Dus. The forward momentum gave Wetherby two chances for a penalty, with the aforementioned Dus only converting the one. 3-7.

After a good ten minutes of play Wetherby went into self-destruct mode shortly before half time as they failed to meet the barrage of Crossleyans forwards with any meaningful resistance. Some paper thing tackling on the Wetherby right wing allowed Crossleyans to go over for the second try, and cap off one of the worst halves of rugby Grange Park has seen in a long time.

Half-time: Wetherby 3-12 Old Crossleyans

After some half-time soul searching, the Wetherby coaching staff knew they needed a hero. Heroes can come in many shapes and forms; this one came in the shape of a mushroom top and the form of a Maths teacher. Up stepped Bradley Mason. Big Brad channeled his inner Olivia Newton-John to get physical right from the off and put in two big hits right from the off. This seemed to spur the Wetherby pack into motion as George Gilbert and Jim Greenwood chopped low, while Mattie Chappel and Will Dutton swallowed attackers at chest-height.

The real switch flicked in Harry Johnson however, as the second row come openside was everywhere in both attack and defence - like a white Itoje. Get those dreadlocks grown lad.
The added spice to the game allowed both teams to trade penalties as the tension continued to rise. 6-15.

The spice continued as the game went down to 14-a-side as Crossleyans lost a man for repeated infringements, and Will Dutton was harshly carded for a tackle so big it could pass as a hate crime. The extra space allowed spaces in defence and after more strong work from debutant Blackwell, fireball Jonny Day and stand in skipper Myles Oates combined to put Alex Dus through a gap and he finished well to draw Wetherby back into the game. 13-15.

With Cross receiving a wake up call they looked to respond quickly, and earned themselves a penalty, which they took quickly. With the laws of the game being no boundary, Barney Roberts proved he could actually tackle! Unfortunately he'd not retreated 10 metres, and was sent for a ten minute stint to brush up on the rules. Fortunately the Crossleyans attacks were being driven in defence now, as Stephen Hoather and Chris Atkinson both made meaningful tackles and turnovers in defence.

Wetherby again marched up-field and after more fine work from live-wire Jonny Day and the bruising carries of the stand-out Ed Blackwell at centre, allowed Andrew Trotman to get to work. A weaving, mazey run down the left put pressure on Crossleyans again. After some good pressure from the Wetherby forwards, they forced a scrum five metres from the Crossleyans line. With the front three foaming at the mouth, there was only going to be one result as they forced the penalty try. 20-15.

Despite some pressure moments, Wetherby showed great heart and game management to close the game out. Not a classic, but a much needed end to the losing streak!

Full time: Wetherby 20-15 Old Crossleyans

MoM - Ed Blackwell. Excellent debut, faultless in both attack and defence. Notable mention to Bradley Mason, who helped to change the game.

DoD - Barney Roberts. His only tackle of the game, and it earned him a yellow card!