THE Henderson brothers combined to run in two late tries to earn Prudhoe and Stocksfield a bonus point in their defeat to fourth placed Yarm.

Making the most of their numerical advantage, Michael and then older brother Steven secured tries in the final 10 minutes to secure the point for four tries.

While the 43-26 scoreline suggests the high flying visitors had it comfortable, they were given endless scares by a determined Prudhoe side who fought until the end.

With 10 minutes remaining, the largest front row player on the field found himself almost two feet in the air before the referee gave him an early breather by sending him to the sin bin for the remainder of the game.

Yarm, either tactically or otherwise, went to uncontested scrums but this only delayed the inevitable as Prudhoe’s number eight Michael Henderson went over for his side’s third try.

The away side seemed desperate to finish the game at this point but they could not hold out P&S in the final play of the game as good hands from a line-out saw Steven Henderson crash over for his second, and Prudhoe’s fourth, of the game.

It was just rewards for a gutsy performance from the hosts who gave Yarm a game, despite the visitors arriving at Stocksfield expecting an easy game due to their respective league positions.

And it looked like that might have been the case as Yarm needed just two minutes to find a gap in the home defence for a seven point lead.

Prudhoe roared back and Chris Patterson was twice over the line but was held up on both occasions. Yet the home side weren’t to be kept out much longer as a good quick ball out allowed Steven Henderson to cross the line, converting his own try to level the scores at 7-7.

The pendulum swung back to Yarm and they punished some woeful defending to run largely unchallenged and secure an unconverted try.

Prudhoe were stung but they gained the upper hand before 20 minutes as Luke Masters flew through the defence to score, Steven Henderson’s successful kick taking the score to 14-12.

It took a further 10 minutes for the next try of the day when a Yarm winger kicked ahead and collected beyond a fully stretched defence to touch down.

While the game was end to end at this point, Prudhoe going down to 14 men was a pivotal moment in the game as Yarm took full advantage to run in two tries. The moment came when Dan Whiley attempt to stop Yarm’s prop forward with a high tackle, the P&S man not only being shown a yellow card but receiving a painful blow from his opponent too.

The extra scores took Yarm’s lead to 31-14 at the break, and it looked all over as two tries in the first half of the second period put the away side out of sight at 43-14. While Prudhoe were just playing for pride at this point, they refused to give up and the four try bonus point came after the Henderson brothers took control.