Beverley Braves were not fired up for this game like the previous week but still fought hard against old rivals East Hull.
The home side managed to break free in the early minutes down the right wing but Harry Gray saved a certain try with a perfect tackle that wrapped up the player and ball. He continued this impressive tackling throughout the match. Braves struggled to get out their own area and it took a side stepping move from Danny Dawson to release some pressure. East Hull continued to control the game and their work paid off as they scored and took an early lead.
There was a lot of tackling down the middle of the field with some fine work from Callum Officer and Callam Bielby against a big pack. Beverley regained possession as James McGahey kicked an excellent ball and a Hull knock-on gave the away side their chance. When Beverley pass the ball around across the pitch they are unstoppable and this was proved as it culminated with Owen Harrison side stepping the Hull defence to dive over the line, and he then converted his own try to make it 4–6. East Hull dug deep though and a break from a scrum in the middle of the field saw their stand-off escape and run cleanly to score and edge East Hull into the lead.
The teams were very evenly matched despite the Hull side having the bigger players. Another East Hull attack was thwarted by a fantastic interception by Conor Egan who came in off the wing many times to get stuck into the action and made some excellent runs with his centre Kurt Pelham who is consistent every week. The whistle blew for half time 10–6 and both sides certainly knew that the game was there for the taking.
The Braves had the perfect start to the second half as Dylan Clifford broke free from his own half, smashed his way through a couple of the Hull backs falling just short of the home sides line. The ball was quickly passed out wide from the play of the ball for Owen Harrison to score his second try of the match and level the game once more.
Braves had a glimpse of a victory but East Hull did not let them settle and scored moments later to go back into the lead. Beverley now started to feel the strain of the monumental tackles going in throughout the match. Tom Tozer came off the bench and made some big hits on the opposition as did Joshua Drew. Jamie Branton was tireless in his tackling, and passes from Jay Black found the player time and time again with precision against tough opposition.
James McGahey tackled like a second rower from his stand-off position and Danny Dawson had some awesome tackles go in, but the game turned in favour of the home side and the last 15 minutes saw Beverley crumble and the match ended 52–10, a sad result for such a gallant effort and a very tough lesson for the Braves. A worthy Man of the Match went to Jamie Branton and Top Tackler award went to Callum Officer.
Finale score East Hull 52Beverley Braves 10
