On current form a close encounter was expected, Gateshead having proved difficult opposition all season and were not fourth in the table for good reason, however after a close opening 30 minutes Bramley ruthlessly blew the Storm.

Both teams came into the game following a short break and on the back of away wins, Bramley 22-24 victors at Featherstone, and Gateshead 16-30 winners at East Lancashire Lions. Bramley again showed a number of team changes, there were welcome returns for Shaun Flynn after a 2 match absence, Chris Gardner making his first Bramley start of the season following a thumb operation and Daniel Caston also returned. Kevin Till, John Ellicker and Jon Nicholls were unavailable and Shaun Gilmour remained sidelined by a shoulder problem. There were changes too for Gateshead, with no Liam Andrews, Rob Roxburgh, Chris Parker, Andrew Pybus, Andrew Barnes or Gareth Barron from their previous outing.

On an overcast and breezy day Tony Williams started the game and Gateshead posted the first points inside 2 minutes with a straightforward John Coutts penalty after Bramley had been caught off-side. On 4 minutes as a result of good Bramley tackling, Gateshead lost the ball on half way and Paul Coates swooped to pick up the loose ball and make good metres. From the resulting play a short Paul Drake was collected behind their posts and Gateshead. Coates went over in the left corner following the drop-out but the try was ruled out for a forward pass. The opening exchanges were characterised by some good tackling from both teams with no clear cut opportunities to score. Matt Mullholland, Graham Harrison and Paul Drake made several crunching tackles as Gateshead struggled to make metres, however they were making progress through their kicking game as they sought to pen Bramley back. Bramley however were carrying the ball back with vigour especially through unsung forward Gareth Thirsk who was a threat down the middle every time he had the ball.

On the quarter hour Bramley's attacking play finally clicked into gear when Gareth Thirsk burst through several tackles in centre field and as he charged towards the Storm line he intelligently drew the fullback before slipping a perfect pass to the supporting Tony Williams who scored unopposed to the left of the posts. Paul Drake easily converted and the Buffaloes were 6-2 ahead. Straight from the kick off Thirsk was in the action again as he drove the ball forward and was then subjected to an illegal challenge by Neil Emmerson. Bramley grew in confidence but were unable to convert their possession into points. Tony Williams launched a number of searching kicks which the Storm defence had trouble diffusing. Several plays broke down from dropped ball and supporters may have become concerned that once again when appearing seemingly dominant, Bramley had not converted that into points. Another drop out forced after some excellent aggressive tackling by Bramley had forced Gateshead to spill the ball and lose possession under their posts, this was immediately capitalised upon as Daniel Caston scored in the wide right hand corner on 27 minutes. Bramley continued to apply pressure and on 31 minutes substitute Thomas Webb scored after receiving a good off load from the hard working and determined Andy McGann. 14-4 to Bramley as half-time approached. Gateshead may have settled that but the Buffaloes had other ideas as first Paul Coated ghosted through some indifferent tackling to score on 37 minutes and then almost immediately following a weaving run from Coates again, he provided the perfect inside pass for Tony Williams to cross for his second try of the half. Paul Drake converted both. Half-time, 26-2 to Bramley. A strong finish to the half gave Bramley a solid platform to build on, the question was could they, and what type of response did Gateshead have.

If the Gateshead Coach was looking to get back in the game he must have been disappointed to see Bramley score within 60 seconds of the re-start, but what a great rugby league try it was.!! Substitute Steven Gill collected the kick off and immediately made good metres up the middle, a quick play the ball allowed Chris Gardner in his first start of the season to roll the years back and make further excellent progress with a powerful run. The ball was passed out to the left where Paul Coates showed excellent pace to leave defenders in his wake as he hugged the touchline before passing inside to the supporting John Richardson who had an easy. An excellent team try which Paul Drake converted. To their credit Gateshead scored within 4 minutes when some Chris Burnett scored midway between the corner flag and the sticks following some good approach play. Gateshead then had some possession and started to show why they have a very good season to date, good ball movement prompted by Michael Watton and John Coutts gave them hope of further respectability. Bramley however intensified their defence and Webb had a try disallowed for stepping into touch. On 55 minutes Gateshead dogged resistance finally gave way as Bramley then rattled up 30 points in 25 minutes. First off Tony Williams from a 20 metre scrum showed his pace and vision as he easily scythed through Gateshead's sliding defence to score his hat-trick try. Four minutes later but from a scrum inside the Bramley half Williams outpaced the defence to score again, 40-6. Some excellent Bramley tackling led by Graham Harrison and ably supported by Matt Mullholland and Danny Johnson were making it difficult for Storm to now make any meaningful ground, several relieving kicks by Storm went out on the full, or were easily returned with interest by Shaun Flynn, Andy McGann or John Richardson. Paul Drake proved unstoppable from 10 metre as he went over the top of Morris to score under the posts on 64 minutes, this followed further good damaging runs by Daniel Caston and Chris Gardner. On a rare sortie into Bramley territory, Gateshead scored an excellent try in the corner through Michael Lasson, however any joy was short-lived as the returning Chris Gardner carried 3-4 tacklers over the line for a deserved and very popular try 5 minutes later. Special mention must be made of Tony Williams 2 second half restarts from which Paul Drake gathered both kicks (albeit the second one was adjudged a knock-on), expertly judged kicks with a terrific catch by Drakey, inventive play. In the final 3 minutes Bramley crossed for 2 further tries, firstly after terrific approach play by Matt Mullholland he released Tony Williams to score his fifth try, and then on the final whistle Paul Coates also scored a deserved second try as he went over in the corner following a good drive by the willing Daniel Lavery.

A great result for Bramley as the season continues to unfold. Although Tony Williams rightly takes the headlines, none of this is possible without the grafting work done by all 17 players and coaching staff. The whole team performance was excellent, however the injection of pace that Paul Coates brings to the back line, which is not slow by any means, adds a new dimension to the team. Great work from the forwards where Scott Pendlebury quietly but effectively slipped into the loose forward roll almost went unnoticed. Gateshead will not suffer too many defeats like this, and probably their display against Bramley earlier in the season is a better reflection of their progress to date. It is tight in the middle of the table as teams jostle to get 'into the 6', however Gateshead have shown enough both home and away so far this season to make themselves genuine contenders – and that is a great effort by all concerned.

Next game for Bramley is at home to Hemel Stags in one weeks time, Saturday 5 July 2008, kick off 2.30 pm at Stanningley. Get along and see a cracking game for £4!!

Game Breaker: Three tries in the last 8 minutes of the first half by Bramley effectively took the game beyond Gateshead's reach

Game Star: No need to look beyond Tony Williams '5 star try perfomance'

Bramley Buffaloes: 1) Shaun Flynn, 2) Andy McGann, 3) Daniel Caston, 4) Paul Coates, 5) John Richardson, 6) Paul Drake, 7) Tony Williams, 8) Mark Butterill, 9) Graham Harrison, 10) Gareth Thirsk, 11) Matt Mullholland, 12) Danny Johnson, 13) Scott Pendlebury, SUBS (all used); 14) Thomas Webb, 15) Daniel Lavery, 16) Steven Gill, 17) Chris Gardner
Tries; Williams (15, 39, 55, 59,78), Caston (27), Webb (32), Coates (37 & 80), Richardson (41), Drake (64), Gardner (75)
Goals: Drake 7/11, Webb 0/1


Gateshead Storm: 1) Andrew Morris, 2) Gavin Houston, 3) Graham Stephenson, 4) Duncan Bain, 5) Michael Lassen, 6) Michael Watton, 7) John Coutts, 8) Jonny Scott, 9) David Vernon, 10) Richard Metcalfe, 11) Chris Burnett, 12) Rhys Clarke, 13) Neil Emmerson, SUBS (all used); 14) Mick Dixon, 15) Mark Dack, 16) James Griffiths, 17) Steven Welton
Tries: Burnett (46), Lasson (67)
Goals: Coutts 1/3


Man of the Match:

Bramley Buffaloes - Tony Williams
Gateshead Storm - Michael Lassen