Swinton Lions 42, York City Knights 48

Friday’s transfer deadline day was not as busy as hoped, with the Knights missing out on a few targets, but the man who did arrive, Ryan Esders, made an immediate impression on his return to the club on loan from Harlequins – scoring a hat-trick, and receiving a yellow card after allegedly sparking a mass melee.

His treble – his first two came within 16 minutes of his entering as substitute, and his third came with his first touch after returning from the sin-bin – helped Dave Woods’ battlers beat Swinton 48-42 and strengthen their hold on third place in Championship One, aided by defeat for fourth-placed Rochdale at Workington, the team York had pipped seven days ago.

There might be a sting in the tail, however, as captain Jordan Ross was sent off for allegedly being the first to run in and throw punches in that 45th-minute melee and may now be suspended for the last two games of the regular season as his side seek to keep third place and, with it, an advantage in the play-offs.

That the Knights overcame a man disadvantage for much of the game deserves praise, but at the same time Woods was unhappy with their defensive execution, and improvements will be needed for next week’s visit of second-placed Oldham.

Indeed, both sides’ defences were too permeable, albeit on the big open spaces of Park Lane, which became bigger and more open after Ross was dismissed following the mayhem that began when Esders was tackled into touch and went right up against supporters on the other side of the hoardings.

Esders and Swinton player-coach Ian Watson also exited for ten minutes, making it 12 versus 11 and even more open – with Knights playmaker Chris Thorman likening it to the recent Northern Rail 9s.

It also made life even tougher on Jack Lee. Fellow hooker Chris Williams had been the unlucky player to make way for Esders, despite having had his best game in a while off the bench last week, and it was a brave call by Woods given there was no natural replacement at dummy-half for the two-time Press Player of the Month.

Thorman would probably have had a spell there to give Lee a breather but those plans were disrupted due to a reshuffle following a shoulder injury to full-back James Haynes midway through the first half. As it was, Lee went on to play the full game – yet got stronger the longer it went on.

The only other change saw prop Alex Benson, back from suspension, relace Chris Clough on the bench.

Thorman started the scoring without Swinton touching the ball, with Danny Ratcliffe converting from out wide his first and best of six goals.

But the Lions, dangerous in possession, hit back quickly through second-row Dale Cuniffe, while left-winger Rob Foxen had another try ruled out for offside.

The penalty from that gave field position from which Thorman’s pass saw Matt Duckworth scramble over, but again Swinton hit back, through Gavin Dodd.

Haynes was then helped off but this merely brought Esders on early, after 22 minutes, and he went in at centre, with Ratcliffe going to his natural position at full-back and Allan switching to a more effective role at stand-off.

The reshuffle did not aid defensive structure, as Watson superbly put full-back Rich Hawkyard into a big gap, Dodd adding his first of four conversions.

But, while the hosts had looked the more incisive, Esders made sure they went in at half-time behind with tries on 30 and 38 minutes, both finished well and both set up expertly by Allan, although Dodd narrowed the gap on the hooter to 22-16 after York, foolishly, were penalised for crossing.

The second half started as the first, with York scoring, Lee going in from dummy-half.

But then came the melee which involved most players on the pitch, and, with the man advantage that followed, it seemed Swinton were getting the roll-on as Alex Hurst and Dodd crossed in quick succession.

Match facts

Swinton: R Hawkyard, Dodd, Hurst, Stewart, Foxen, Harvey, Watson, Mulally, Joseph, Meekin, D Hawkyard, Cuniffe, Rigby.

Subs (all used): Hulse, Dana Wilson, Fitzpatrick, Ainscough.

Tries: Cuniffe 8; Dodd 21, 50; R Hawkyard 26; Hurst 48, 78; Foxen 66; Joseph 77.

Conversions: Dodd 26, 50, 66, 77.

Penalties: Dodd 40.

Drop goals: None.

Sin-binned: Watson 45; Harvey 72.

Knights: Haynes 6, Dan Wilson 7, Mitchell 7, Allan 7, Lineham 7, Thorman 8, Ratcliffe 8, Freer 7, Lee 8, Dinsdale 7, Ross 6, Duckworth 8, Hardbottle 7.

Subs (all used): Benson 8, Esders 8, Lewis 7, Stearman 8.

Tries: Thorman 2; Duckworth 17; Esders 30, 38, 59; Lee 42; Allan 52; Lineham 56, 69.

Conversions: Ratcliffe 2, 17, 30, 42, 56, 69.

Penalties: None.

Drop goals: None.

Sin-binned: Esders 45.

Sent off: Ross 45.

Man of the match: Danny Ratcliffe – good at half-back and even better at full-back, doing his bit defensively and being excellent, and intelligent, in creating and making use of spaces in attack.

Referee: Dave Merrick (Castleford) – he had been good in the first half, but then a melee involving all players shortly after half-time ended with one yellow card for the home team and a yellow and red for the Knights. Make of that what you will.

Penalty count: 6-10.

Weather: made for good rugby.

Half-time: 16-22.

Attendance: 431.

Moment of the match: Ryan Esders marked his return with two tries within 16 minutes of entering the fray and completing his hat-trick with his first touch after a time in the sin-bin.

Gaffe of the match: both defences were full of errors, hence the 90 points.

Game-breaker: Chris Thorman’s last restart after Swinton’s last try went dead, and this was followed by a penalty, and this killed time left in which the hosts could have nicked a draw, which had been possible after two quick-fire tries.

Match rating: not necessarily the best match but it had action, controversy, tries, points, and cards aplenty, and it ultimately brought a very good result for the Knights.