NORTH Ribb will have derived a good deal of satisfaction from this display, proving superior in almost every aspect of play.

The visitors, who had refused to perform a fortnight previously, were not too happy to return to the Dales so swiftly for this Yorkshire Division One clash, although they came with an impressive record of eight wins from 11 league games.

But they were comprehensively outplayed, their points coming in the final 10 minutes when Ribb had already established a winning lead.

Well-motivated from the off, Ribb tore into their opponents, enjoying a remarkable period of dominance which lasted for half an hour. But Ribb were profligate in the extreme and scoring chances came and went. Sometimes over-elaboration was the problem, at others the final pass went astray and the visitors defended stoutly so the period of constant pressure came to nought.

Selby almost caught out Ribb with a sharp counter but Ribb moved back into Selby territory and some good handling finally put points on the board. Simon Spensley was the scorer, going over in the right hand corner after another sustained attack and excellent support play.

The conversion failed but Ribb soon added a second try when John Walker followed up a kick and gathered to force his way over. He then added the conversion to bring a 12-0 interval scoreline.

The second half saw Selby in different mode, using their line out possession to set up rolling mauls, but the Dalesmen soon came to terms with this tactic and when the visitors elected to move the ball, Ribb's midfield defence of Sean Kennedy, Jonathan Richards and Stuart Evans, was rock solid.

Selby's period of pressure was lifted when Neil Gemmell's quickly-taken tap penalty resulted in Spensley being put through but again Ribb spurned the chance to score, although the move seemed to mark the end of Selby's efforts to contest the points.

Further home ascendancy followed and Walker kicked a penalty, although a penalty try would not have been out of place as the deliberate knock-on probably prevented an unchallenged attacker going over to score.

However, it didn't seem to matter much at the time and it seemed almost irrelevant a few minutes later when a superb attack led to Walker's second try. The conversion went wide but Ribb had a 20 point cushion - although it could have been double that.

Selby's late surge caused a few anxious moments. Their first score came with Ribb thoroughly committed to attack, only to lose possession and Batty ran from inside his own half to score, Patterson converting. Then, in injury time, Selby's huge lock Cisero strode through to add a second try.

There were plenty of plus points for Ribb. The front row had the Selby scrum in all sorts of difficulties, the second row grafted hard and long and the back row must rank among the best in the league; the trio of Carr, Kirkbride and Matafeo were tremendous and their powerful play proved too much for the high-flying visitors.

Behind the pack, a talented back division was prompted by the experience of Gemmill and Walker. Although many of the attacking ploys did not pay dividends, there was obviously a good deal of enjoyment, after all, it is a players' game.