Hemel Stags have always provided tough opposition and this week was no different.

Once again the team showed changes from the one that defeated Gateshead Storm the previous week. Tom Tsang came back into the team and Kevin O'Hare started at scrum half in place of Scott Pendlebury who was unavailable. Shawn Gilmour was also back but both Danny Johnson and the powerful John Elliker were missing.

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Hemel completed the first set of six tackles in the Buffaloes who then promptly turned the ball over cheaply on their own 40m line from which Oli O'Mara took advantage and crossed with only 1 minute on the clock. Barry John-Swindells added a fine conversion, 6-0 to Hemel. Bramley's made progress down field and Thomas Webb was held up on Hemel's line.

The game flowed back towards Bramley's line and Webb provided a timely interception on his own 10m line on 9 minutes to stop another promising Hemel attack. Hemel however were not to be denied and their positive start continued with 2 tries in 2 minutes on the 15 minute mark. Poor defence allowed first Caine Wynyard to score and then Stuart McIntyre. Swindells converted one of the scores to leave Hemel with a deserved 14-0 score line.

Bramley re-grouped and got some much needed field position deep in Hemel's half, however the Buffaloes suffered a major blow on 21 minutes when Webb when down just short of the Hemel line following up his own kick. After treatment he left the field with a leg injury and played no further part in the game.

Immediately after Webb's injury the industrious Graham Harrison burrowed over the line for a much needed score. Shaun Flynn added the extras. That score appeared to both lift the Buffaloes and settle them down as they then dominated the remainder of the half as Hemel were continually pushed back by some aggressive running. Danny O'Connor who had a fine game throughout crashed over on 29 minutes but only after punishing successive dummy half runs from Andy McGann, John Richardson and Shawn Flynn. Flynn again converted and after 30 minutes the Buffaloes were only 4 points in arrears.

On 32 minutes Hemel's Christian Champion appeared harshly treated by the referee and got 10 minutes in the sin bin for persistent holding down. Two minutes later and excellent handling across the line saw Matt Mullholland crash through two tackles to score in the corner. Shawn Flynn added a wonderful touchline conversion to edge Bramley in from for the first time and to lead they were never to lose. Jon Nicholls continued his fine start to the season with a 40-20 kick. From the resultant scrum Gareth Thirsk scattered defenders and offloaded to the supporting Nichols to go over in the corner. Half time saw Bramley in a deserved lead at 16-22, literally a half of two halves.

With the words of assistant coach Mark Butterill still fresh in their minds the Buffaloes carried on where they had left off in the first half. Shawn Gilmour went 30m from the kick-off but his off load went to ground. Hemel also spilled possession quickly which allowed Kevin O'Hare to put a little kick in behind a slow turning Hemel defence and John Richardson won the race to touch down in the corner. Flynn's touchline conversion hit the cross bar, 6-26 to Bramley.

There were no further points scored by either team in an absorbing second half. Bramley continually made good ground with ball in hand but too often they appeared to force the final pass and the move broke down. There were prominent runs from John Richardson and Matt Mullholland as Hemel were continually pushed back. Tom Tsang provided several elusive runs and was proving difficult for Hemel to stop. However whenever a Bramley move did breakdown; Hemel always came back but they were let down by a poor last tackle option. Shawn Flynn comfortably dealt with several short kicks close to his own line and always returned the ball with interest. Both teams made a number of unforced errors as fatigue set in but Bramley who must surely be one of the fittest, if not the fittest team in the league always appeared to have enough energy left to deal with Hemel's attacks. Both defences held firm as attacks probed for an opening. Jon Nicholls lead from the front with a delicate kick and chase to keep Hemel on the back-foot, followed by 3 tackles from marker. One final play saw Shawn Flynn gather a kick under his own posts and run 20m in a pressure relieving dash.

At the final hooter, Bramley celebrated a gutsy performance with another valuable 3 points. Hemel also look a quality team with a number of overseas imports who once they get some game time will prove to be difficult to beat on their own ground.

Assistant coach Mark Butterill paid tribute to all his team for their collective display, especially as a number of players came into the game carrying knocks.

The Buffaloes are next in action on Saturday 26th April, at the Arthur Miller Stadium, against league new comers Liverpool Buccaneers. 2:30 Kick off

Final score: 16-26

Game star: Any one of the players, however Danny O'Connor deserves special mention for his terrific tackling stint, hard running and for never taking a backward step.

Game breaker: Sin-binning of Hemel's Christian Champion on 32 minutes coincided with Bramley scoring 3 tries whilst he was off the pitch.
Hemel Stags: 1 Mark Coulson, 2 Stuart McIntyre, 3 B J Swindells, 4 Oli Mara, 5 Christian Champion, 6 Kane Phillips, 7 Blake Kirby, 8Ben Kay, 9 Gareth Swindells, 10 Sean Wall, 11 Ian Grimes, 12Jack Moon, 13 Caine Wynyard. Subs (all used) 14Andy Curtain, 15 James Keeley, 16 Ryan Backhouse, 17 Ashley Fyson
Tries: O'Mara (1), Wynyard (14), McIntyre (16)
Goals: BJ Swindells 2/3
Bramley Buffaloes: 1 Shaun Flynn, 2 Tom Tsang, 3 Andy McGann, 4 Matt Mullholland, 5 John Richardson, 6 Jon Nicholls, 7 Kevin O'Hare, 8 Richard Leese, 9 Thomas Webb, 10 Gareth Thirsk, 11 Graham Harrison, 12 Shawn Gilmour, 13 Danny O'Connor. Subs (all used) 14 Dave Walker, 15 Neil Hesketh, 16 Steven Gill, 17 Mark Butterill
Tries: Harrison (22), O'Connor (29), Mullholland (36), Nicholls (38), Richardson (41)
Goals: Flynn 3/5
Men of the Match
Hemel Stags: Kane Phillips
Bramley Buffaloes: Danny O'Connor
Half-time: 16-22
Full-time: 16-26