Early Huddersfield forays were well contained and Harrogate counter attacked from good turnover ball. Huddersfield went offside in defence and Lewis Minikin’s penalty opened the scoring. However, Chris Bell soon equalised when Harrogate were penalised for “hands in” at a ruck.

Jake Brady, Harrogate’s inspirational captain drove strongly throughout the match, well supported by brother Sam, his 2nd Row partner and the powerful Willem Enslin. Flankers Jonny Coser and Tom Harvey worked tirelessly with half backs, Danny Matthews and Callum Irvine making good use of the valuable possession.

A long Matthews clearing kick led to a home defensive line-out but Sam Brady stole Huddersfield’s ball. Huddersfield went off side in defence and L Minikin’s penalty put Harrogate back ahead. More Harrogate pressure followed from an incisive Noel MInikin midfield break but ‘Field’s defence held firm until an opportunistic Irvine drop goal extended the lead. Huddersfield continued to tackle well but the continued pressure led to an inevitable offside offence and L Minikin kicked another penalty goal.

Before the break, Irvine scored the game’s only try when he ghosted through the cover and accelerated to score in the corner. L Minikin’s touchline conversion made the half time score 3-19.

Both sides had well organized defences and the increasingly boggy conditions made attacking play difficult in the second half. When Harrogate went offside, Bell’s penalty reduced the lead and, midway through the half, another successful kick made it 9-19. A valuable Huddersfield bonus point seemed to be a possible target but, as time was running out, they went offside and L Minikin’s final penalty effectively ended the match.

Huddersfield: Hodson, Workman, Hodgson, Grainger, Fletcher, Bell, Hinchcliffe, Battye, Bradley, Tamanis, Thompson, G Rhodes, N Rhodes, Hoyle, Malthouse. Subs:- Parfitt, Stringwell, Jeffrey, Walker, Owen.

Harrogate: L Minikin, Bottomley, N Minikin, Frost, Aspin, Irvine, Matthews, Boyce, Larder, Reaveley, J Brady,
S Brady, Harvey, J Coser, Enslin. Subs:- Maycock, Ward, G Coser, Nesbitt, Wickham

Referee: Jonathon Cook (Northern)

Match report by Bill Barrack
Match photos by David Aspinall