SEDGLEY Tigers were once again quick out of the traps on Saturday, scoring all their points in a 21-13 victory at Huddersfield inside the opening half an hour.

The pattern of scoring was an almost mirror image of the previous weekend's win against Leicester Lions.

But after scoring three early tries and adding a bonus-point score late in the game against the Lions, Sedgley were unable to repeat the trick on Saturday as they just failed to eke out the extra point.

"We were close to getting the bonus-point try on several occasions, but Huddersfield held us up on the line once and put in a brave defensive effort to stop us from getting that fourth try," said coach Geoff Roberts.

Centre Tom Bedlow got the ball rolling in the second minute, touching down after the ball was moved quickly by the backs, before good forward play set up tries for back rower James Lloyd and captain Juan Crous in the seventh and 28th minutes, respectively, while Matt Riley kicked all three conversions.

Christopher Bell slotted over two penalties for Huddersfield in the first half to make it 21-6 at the break but the home side had to wait until the 71st minute to score what turned out to be a consolation try through Liam Parfitt, converted by Bell.

"We played really well in the first half – basically winning the game in the opening 30 minutes," said Roberts.

"But the match was played in horrendous conditions on a very heavy pitch.

"It is always a concern the pitch could be a leveller, but to be fair to Huddersfield they came back at us after the break and put us under some pressure.

"We were certainly left with some interesting kits to wash – you literally couldn't tell the two sides apart in the final 20 minutes, it was that bad.

"They didn't manage to score until late in the game, though, and we were content in the end to leave with four points."

The win was enough to keep Sedgley in second place in National Division Two North, level with third-placed Stourbridge, who also secured victory but were unable to claim a bonus point.

Macclesfield, however, extended their lead at the top of the table to 15 points after winning 31-7 at Sandal.

The battle for second spot and a place in the end-of-season promotion play-off will take centre stage over the next two weeks.

The Tigers entertain fifth-placed Caldy on Saturday and Stourbridge, who have a weekend off, the following Saturday.

But Roberts remains focussed on top spot rather than the play-offs, with Sedgley having a game in hand over Macclesfield and still to play the leaders at Park Lane.

"As long as there is a chance we can catch Macclesfield then we will be going for maximum points in every game anyway, whatever the opposition," added Roberts.

"Win our game in hand and beat Macclesfield at our place then all of a sudden there is only five points in it.

"So while it would be nice to open up that breathing space, that's not our main concern at the minutes."

Teacher Steve Collins – the Tigers' regular kicker – is due to return from a half-term skiing break while Shaun Manley is expected to return to full fitness following an knock to his shoulder.