Silsden Stormettes 34–14 West Craven Warriors
The Silsden Stormettes welcomed local rivals West Craven Warriors in what was always going to be a fiercely contested derby. The girls had been looking forward to this one all week and came out of the blocks with real intent.
Storm made the perfect start, with Jess powering over from one of her trademark runs. Daisy calmly added the conversion to give Silsden an early 6-0 lead.
The girls continued to pile on the pressure, completing their sets well and defending with real determination. Their hard work was soon rewarded when Amy crossed the line to extend the lead to 10-0.
Silsden weren’t finished there. Maisie produced an excellent try before Daisy added the extras to make it 16-0. Moments later, India showed fantastic game awareness, spotting that West Craven weren’t set in defence before racing 20 metres for a brilliant solo try. It was an outstanding opening 20 minutes from the Stormettes and they were in complete control.
To their credit, West Craven hit back with a well-worked try, but Silsden responded once again before the break. Harriet finished off a fantastic move and Daisy converted to send the Stormettes into half-time with a deserved 26-4 lead.
West Craven came out strongly after the interval and scored again to take their tally to eight points. Play was then unfortunately stopped following a serious-looking ankle injury to Stormettes player Ev. Everyone at Silsden wishes Ev a speedy recovery and hopes she’s back on the field as soon as possible.
The lengthy stoppage understandably affected the Stormettes, who were clearly shaken after seeing their teammate in pain. West Craven took advantage and crossed again to reduce the deficit to 26-14.
To the girls’ credit, they regrouped brilliantly. Amy produced a fantastic finish in the corner to make it 30-14 before the try of the game sealed the victory. Following an excellent passage of play, Daisy delicately chipped a perfectly weighted grubber kick towards the corner, where Kiesse gathered superbly to score and complete a memorable 34-14 victory.
A special mention must go to the Stormettes’ pack, with Nell, Bo, Lucy and Loreece laying the platform all afternoon with some outstanding carries, strong defence and relentless effort. They were brilliantly backed up by the centres, Ruby, Brooke, Bell and Harriet, who continually took tough carries, gained valuable metres and kept West Craven on the back foot. Their hard work through the middle of the field gave the team the perfect platform to play.
It was an outstanding team performance from every single player, with the girls showing attacking flair, disciplined defence and tremendous character throughout. Credit must also go to West Craven Warriors, who never gave up and battled until the final whistle in a game played in great spirit.
Awesome performance, girls – every single one of you should be incredibly proud!
