A much-changed Pontefract made the short journey to Doncaster on St Leger day. They were not in town for the delights of Town Moor however but had some pressing business on different turf at nearby Castle Park. Having lost an eminently winnable game against Wetherby last week, the team had a point to prove to themselves and to the Ponte faithful.
Doncaster Phoenix are old foes and are traditionally difficult to beat on their home ground. They also lost last week to a strong Old Brod’s outfit so were keen to get their first league points at Ponte’s expense.

Ponte looked resplendent in their brand new black and red away kit which echoes the original club strip in which they raised the Yorkshire Cup in 1891. Our thanks kit sponsors Trinity House Orthodontics, Bradleys Real Estate, Duchy Homes, and Oakworth Financial for their generous support.

Although Doncaster had the edge in the scrums Ponte had the better of the early exchanges, and took the lead through a Milthorpe try following some excellent handling. Milthorpe also assumed kicking duties and added the extra two points.
Ponte continue to look sharp and probed the Doncaster defence but couldn’t break through. Donny played well in attack too and pressured Pontefract who conceded a yellow card for a high tackle. Donny declined the opportunity to kick for goal and continued to press but were unable to break a resolute defence, and eventually got their three points from another penalty.

Soon after the restart Milthorpe struck again when pounced on a mistake by the home team and raced in for a converted try to make the score 3-14. The scoring continued from a perfectly executed line our resulting in a converted try for hard running centre Andy Coleman to make it 3-21.

Great interplay with Ketteridge led to a first half hat trick and another conversion for Milthorpe and a remarkable personal points haul of 23. The half time score was 3-28.
Donny demonstrated their resilience by starting the second half brightly but just when it looked like they might get back into the game, Milthorpe struck from long range for his fourth try and added the conversion for good measure.

After this Milthorpe clearly decided it was time to let the others have a go, which resulted in tries for Lucas Ketteridge, Linden Metcalfe and Ben Mawson. To their credit Doncaster continued to play with gusto and added to late scores of their own to reduce the deficit, but eventually Pontefract ran out worthy bonus point winners 15 – 56.

A good all-round team performance with Mawson, Wakachala, Knox, and Dedicoat leading the way in the forwards. Milthorpe was the obvious choice for man of the match, but was ably supported by Coleman, Cooke, Wollaston, Gilbert and Metcalfe in the backs. Perhaps the most satisfying aspect of the game was the way in which new players such as Field, Lewis and Wilson blended seamlessly into the squad.

Thank you to Doncaster for their hospitality and to the match officials. Next week we entertain unbeaten Old Brod’s at home with a 3pm kick off on Saturday. All welcome.

Meanwhile the 2nd XV in their first game of the regular season had an excellent win against Stanley Rodillians. Its been difficult finding fixtures for the 2nd XV so we thank Rod’s for making the journey to us. We also wish the Colts all the best for their fixture against Scunthorpe on Sunday (14/9.)