Bees romp home in final home fixture

On a glorious Spring afternoon, made for running rugby, Bees finished their home slate of fixtures for the 2018/19 season in emphatic style, running in a dozen tries past their opposition who had started the day as possible contenders for the Bees sixth spot in the league table. Once the home side had opened their account in the ninth minute as Michael Crotch jogged over the whitewash, show boating all the way, having broken through the Malton and Norton defence to the right of the posts, there was only ever going to be one winner of this contest. The Bees were quicker in deed and thought all over the field and forwards and backs looked equally confident on the ball and also equally likely to score as Malton and Norton were swamped by the Bees pressing forward.

In one period around the hour mark, the home side crossed four times in as many minutes as Aaron Magee, Lance Taylor and then, man of the match, Ante Majic, twice, burst clear for scores. Taylor's score, his second of the contest, was perhaps a neat summary of how the game played out. There was a break in play and as the ball bobbled loose, no-one from Malton and Norton reacted to the loose ball, apparently waiting for the referee to stop play. As the ball rolled clear, Taylor jogged up and tucked the ball under his arm before setting off towards the opposition line. With no whistle coming from the referee, a couple of defenders set off in a half hearted pursuit of Taylor, who was quickly over the whitewash,fifty metres away from the initial breakdown, bringing the Bees to a 59 points to 7 lead with 64 minutes on the watch.

Taylor's other score showed equal awareness as he snatched a wayward pass out of the air and galloped clear for an interception score two minutes into the second half, bringing the Bees scoring to better than a point a minute at 45-15.

Taylor's compatriots, Tom Johnson and Stefan Roguski also got on the scoresheet in their final home game before returning to New Zealand. Roguski battered his way over in the seventeenth minute, where Johnson was slightly lighter on his feet four minutes later to dot down for the bonus point score with the Bees leading 19-10.

Even though the Bees clearly had the game in the bag by half time, there was no let up in the pace of their game in the second period and with scores coming as soon as the forty second minute and as late as the 79th, the home side remained hungry from first kick to last. With two away fixtures to come to finish the current season, there are many positives the Wagon Lane club can take into the summer break, and perhaps the Bradford and Bingley side running out for the new season in September will be contenders for honours from the off.