Sat 4 Oct 2025, 15:00
Crocs Battle Hard But Selby Prove Too Strong
Old Crossleyans' return to league action ended in a 33-17 defeat away to a strong Selby side. After a weekend off and with Storm Amy still ongoing, the Crocs benefitted from a brief respite in the rain as they took on a well-drilled Selby team at Sandhill Lane.
The visitors made several changes from the side that faced Pocklington in September. Chris Vine took over the captaincy, with Callum Peel and George Banham joining the pack. Josh Hunt returned to the starting XV, while Dhesi was promoted from the bench. A welcome boost came with club captain Tom Metcalfe’s return to the squad after a lengthy injury layoff.
The Crocs started brightly. A crunching tackle from powerhouses George Banham and Jacob Pollard forced an early Selby knock-on. From the resulting powerful scrum, Vine took charge, running down the blindside to score in the corner just five minutes in. The conversion was wide, but the visitors had struck first.
The home side responded quickly, however, as a neat ‘training ground’ backs move put them in the lead at 7-5. Selby extended their advantage on the 20-minute mark when their young fly-half, B. Poskitt, sliced through the Crocs' defence untouched for a try, converting it himself to make it 14-5.
The Crocs fought back. A clever chip through from Jack Hammond allowed Hunt to regather, and although he was tackled just short of the line, scrum-half Vine dived over to score his second try. The conversion by Johnson brought the score to 14-12.
Despite strong efforts, particularly from the forwards, the Crocs struggled with a high penalty count, which prevented them from building sustained pressure. Selby capitalised just before halftime, scoring again to extend their lead to 21-12 at the break.
In the second half, Vine’s quick-thinking on a tap penalty earned a yellow card for Selby’s number 8. However, the Crocs couldn’t fully capitalise on the man advantage, with several chances going begging. Selby then worked their way down the pitch, scoring a fourth, unconverted try to stretch their lead to 26-12.
Good work by Finbar Drennan at the breakdown put the Crocs back on the attack. Another Selby yellow card gave them a chance, and after an unsuccessful scrum attempt to push Selby over, Vine again went blind, spinning a long pass out to Dhesi to score.
A final Selby try on the whistle inflated the scoreline to 33-17, making the result feel somewhat harsh.
Reflecting on the game, Head Coach Jon Bake said, “I am disappointed with Selby’s last try, especially after two scrums where we had the opportunity to close the gap to within two points. We’ll look forward to Scarborough at home next week and anticipate a strong pool of players to choose from. We’ll be working hard in training this week.”
