Heath romp to derby day victory over Cleckheaton

The leaders made it six wins from six with an 11-try romp that left the hosts bottom of the table with six losses from their opening half-dozen games of the season.

There was a large crowd at Moorend and it was the travelling fans who were cheering with only two minutes played when a quickly taken tap penalty allowed Sam Cox to waltz over the line for the first try of the game, converted by Chris Johnson.

Heath were prepared to throw the ball around and, with Harvey Keighley-Payne and Ben Stringer powering through some desperate defending, it came as no surprise to see Alex McFadden touch-down, Johnson converting, with 12 minutes gone.

Cleckheaton went back on the attack and were rewarded with a penalty three minutes later but Heath responded and from a lineout, Alex Patrick soared to collect and the drive was on.

Cleck held the surge but the ball came out along the line and Callum Harriott-Brown was on hand to finish in the corner and make it 19-3 midway through the half.

The visitors were in again five minutes later, Keighley-Payne robbing the ball on the Heath try-line before racing clear and exchanging passes with Ezra Hinchliffe. The final pass went to Sam Cox and he ran in for a try, converted by Johnson.

Heath were well in control but when Keighley-Payne received a yellow, Cleckheaton took advantage with two converted tries to make it 26-17 and put the game back in the balance.

Harriott-Brown also received a yellow just before the break and the home fans were buoyed as they sensed a fight-back from the team.

However, that failed to materialise and Heath were soon pressing for more tries at the start of the second period.

After being awarded a penalty, a clever move saw Josh Crickmay cross the line and with Heath back to full strength, Jake Haynes and Cox linked well before releasing Harriott-Brown for another converted try that put the visitors 40-17 up with 52 minutes played.

Haynes rounded off a fine move to score in the corner, Johnson converting, on the hour before Cleckheaton responded with a try of their own to briefly stem the tide.

The rest of the game belonged to the visitors however and Crickmay threw an outrageous dummy to cross the try-line, Ezra Hinchliffe adding the extras.

Haynes scored a try in the corner and when Cleckheaton had two players carded in the final minutes, they were powerless to prevent two further tries from Harriott-Brown and Elliott Knight, both converted by Hinchliffe, for a final score of 73-22.

On Saturday, Cleckheaton visit Ilkley, who lost their perfect record with a defeat to Blaydon last weekend. Heath take on third-placed Harrogate at North Dean in what should be a cracker of a game.