TWO late tries ensured Bury Broncos had something to show for their never-say-die display in a 46-10 away defeat to high-flying Leigh Miners Rangers on Saturday.

Their third successive defeat left the Bury men bottom of North West Division Two.

The home side, who joined Broncos in a minute's applause for former Broncos player and junior coach Chris Seymour before the game, had the upper hand throughout, going in at half time 28-0 ahead.

Broncos never gave up against a side who have won two and drawn one of their opening three games, and came out fighting in the second half that saw long stints in the pack for Chris Lynch and Matthew Fish due to a lack of depth on the bench following transport problems which denied the Broncos two of their four substitutes.

The under-strength Broncos were never found wanting for commitment, even after another three scores for the home side and with 10 minutes left they got their reward as Sean Kelly sold a dummy and sent Grant Carr in under the sticks. John brooks added the conversation.

And then in the last play of the game, with momentum in their favour, Bury turned defence into attack and Lynch broke the line to get over the halfway line.

The ball was thrown to Dan Scanlon out wide and he ran the ball in for a great finish from 30 metres out.

Broncos' A team also suffered a defeat when they went down 48-14 at home to league leaders Rochdale Cobras.

The Broncos trailed by just four points at half time and then 24-14 with 15 minutes remaining before the Cobras ran away with it at the end thanks to their superior experience, conditioning and depth on the bench.

The Bury men were forced into giving debuts to three new players who had not played before, but despite this they showed a lot of character.

After Cobras took a 6-0 lead in just the second minute the Broncos replied through a great Andy Willis interception try which he converted.

A towering bomb by Willis was then fumbled by the full-back, allowing a good chase by Tyler Nolan to be rewarded with a score and a six-point Broncos lead which was extended by two with a Willis penalty and could have been added to with better finishing.

The Cobras played an expansive game and showed plenty going forward, putting the Broncos defence under pressure.

A great individual try reduced the lead to 14-12 before they took an 18-14 half-time lead.

When they scored again just after half time playing downhill, it looked like the Broncos might crack, but they stuck to their task manfully, keeping the score at 24-14 before the Cobras ran away with it in the last 15 minutes.