The blue and golds signed off the 2018 NCL season with a performance worthy of their title status, attempting to give the ball plenty of air at every opportunity.
In recognition of their title win the home side sportingly applauded them onto the field and were also very welcoming hosts afterwards in the clubhouse.
However, Beverley were in no mood for sentiment. They quickly raced to a 12-0 lead courtesy of scores by Lewis Poskitt and man of the match Jack Humphries. Nixon replied with a try for the home side too wide out to be converted.
Beverley continued their exhibition style handling which yielded more points. Luke Shaw and Trevor Penrose crossed following crisp handling. Josh Poskitt converted three out of four first half tries for a 22-4 interval lead.
The early moments of the second half featured something of the club’s future. Lewis Poskitt broke free from deep in his own half to kick the ball with outside of the foot. 17 years old Lewis Miller- a late addition to the side following Ben Atkin’s withdrawal in the warm up – followed up to regather and score. Rob Charles pulled back a try for the home side to reduce the lead to 28-8 but he final 20 minutes saw Beverley eager for points and eager to entertain.
An enterprising movement out of defence sent Lewis Miller in the clear. As the winger looked for support his inside pass was knocked down by a covering Oldham defender. With the field position set up, Lewis Poskitt’s cross-field kick was caught by brother Josh Poskitt to score in the corner.
Bobby Downs then rounded off dominant performance with a try resulting from some good close support play. As the full time whistle beckoned, Beverley launched another attacking raid and the ball went to ground after striking an Oldham defender. The referee waved play on and the poacher Lewis Poskitt followed up to touch down amongst the confusion. It marked Poskitt’s second try of the game and his 28th of the campaign. Josh Poskitt added a further three second half conversions to complete the afternoons scoring.
There was no shortage of effort and spirit by the home side but Beverley just had too many attacking options. The match marks the end of the current campaign and after a bit of downtime, Scott Taylor and his coaching team will start planning for life in NCL division 2 in 2019.
Final Score : Oldham St Annes 8 Beverley ARLC 44 | Reported by Nick Robinson
