By Paul Elliott
Four tries from Man of the Match, Richie Hayes helped Cadishead to an impressive Simon Annis Cup victory as another big crowd basking in the sunshine saw Cadishead retain the Simon Annis Cup.
The Rhinos got off to the prefect start, forcing an error from the opening kick off and taking full advantage with Richie Hayes crashing over for a try converted by Nathan Vernon to take an earlier lead.
Cadishead dominated much of the early play with strong running from Wes Harrison and Tom Hayman and they extended their lead on 14 minutes with Nathan Vernon scoring and converting his own try.
Substitute Kieran Brady then made an immediate impact as he came off the bench to power his way over for a converted try following Lee Faulkner’s interception taking the score to 18-0.
The Rhinos were looking in complete control with hooker Tom Connor guiding his pack around the park and on 28 minutes Richie Hayes grabbed his second try with some powerful running and Nathan Vernon converted once again.
The visitors finally woke up on 31 minutes with a well worked try.
The Rhinos hit straight back though with Richie Hayes finishing off another good move taking the score to 30-6.
Just before half time the Broncos grabbed a vital try taking the interval lead to 30-12.
The second half saw Bury start well with some clever kicking and strong running troubling the Rhinos and on 2 unanswered tries sent a warning out to the Rhinos as the visitors pulled to within one score.
The Rhinos showed character and battled hard with Jimmy Crozier and captain George McNulty-Shaw working hard in defence before Richie Hayes sealed a great performance with his 4th try and Nathan Vernon maintained his 100% kicking record taking the score to 36-24.
The Broncos were still playing well and set up a grandstand finish on 74 minutes with a converted try taking the scoreline to 36-30.
The final 5 minutes saw the Rhinos take control with good field position and Tom Connor missed the chance to secure the victory with 2 wide drop goal attempts but the Rhinos hung in there to clinch a well deserved victory.
Photo: Marissa Chaplin.
