Pennine Division Two: Wyke 32 CK Vikings 12

FLEET-FOOTED teenage hooker Coby Kittsen posted a sparkling hat-trick in a resounding Wyke victory against CK Vikings in their Pennine Division Two clash at Towngate.

The black and whites made the best possible start when scrum half Jordan Payton shot through the visitors' ranks to race 50 metres and draw the full back perfectly to send Kittsen haring under the posts, leaving loose forward Gavin Mezals to tag on the extras.

Wingman Callum Barker confidently collected two swirling kicks with panache as the visitors pressed, and the hosts were mightily relieved to see wingman Brad Arrowsmith brought to ground following an interception.

The Wakefield outfit were soon back on terms when hooker Jordan Hudson spotted a huge gap at the posts, and stand-off Tom Consterdine landed the conversion.

That was before Wyke regained the ascendency once more when second row forward Jonny Waddington hit a hole after collecting a smart pass from fellow packman Shaun Godfrey to reach the chalk.

Mezals was again on target but they suffered a setback when stand-off Ian Watkinson was sent to the sin-bin for holding down in the tackle.

The Vikings drew level for the second time when Consterdine hoisted a kick out wide on the last, enabling Arrowsmith to reach the whitewash.

But when they were caught reefing out the ball near the posts Mezals was on hand to land the resulting penalty.

The killer punch came bang on the half-time whistle when Kittsen scooped up the ball from the ruck and blasted past three defenders at blistering pace to the uprights, allowing Mezals to land his fourth kick to close the half to home jubilation at 20-12.

The second stanza was an anti-climax to the previous fayre with both defences on top until things suddenly took a turn for the better with ten minutes to go.

The diminutive Kitten, easily distinguishable in his red scrum cap, was held just short when his trio looked to be on the cards but his persistence was duly rewarded when he collected a pass out wide to step inside and canter close enough to the posts to give Mezals the chance to make full reward.

The sure-footed loose forward then increased his tally further by weaving his way to the line, and added a further kick to close the proceedings in a splendidly entertaining encounter.