A FIFTH successive win for Anthony Posa's side sees Bradford & Bingley as the form team in North One East following their 31-18 home success over Percy Park.

Currently fifth in the table, the Wagon Laners have lost to all four teams above them but, aside from a very poor performance in their defeat to York, players and supporters would probably fancy Bees to reverse those results if they were played now.

Much of their attacking flair flows out from the irrepressible play of number 10 Tom Johnson but Bees are no one-trick pony. They have attacking weapons across the side and as milder Saturdays turn to the dark winter months, their midweek preparation has started to include a far more physical focus with an eye to playing more in the rain and mud.

Although the sleight of hand of Johnson will continue to be the pivot of the Bees midfield, the Wagon Laners will be increasingly using the direct power of Stefan Roguski and Gene Te Amo if this performance against Percy Park is anything to go by.

The Bees pack also enjoy direct running on the more agricultural surfaces across North One East and Tom Booth, Tom Cummins, Ali Macdonald, Ante Majic and others in the Bees pack will no doubt be ploughing furrows up the middle of several fields over the coming weeks.

One forward who seems to particularly enjoy a gallop with the ball in hand, when he is not involved in his front row duties, is Michael Crotch.

He celebrated his birthday in style with a 58th-minute scoring effort which saw him on an arcing run around the final defenders to score under the posts from around a dozen metres out.

Percy Park had obviously not read the script for how the game was supposed to pan out and led 6-0 at the half-hour mark thanks to two Michael Grove penalty kicks.

It took a moment of individual skill from Johnson to get the home side on the scoreboard and, with the same player slotting the conversion, it was 7-6 with five minutes to play in the first half.

The Bees were getting the ball into the hands of Roguski and Te Amo as often as possible and Te Amo, who took the man of the match award, in particular seemed to be enjoying picking out a Percy Park defender to run at or over.

When Roguski skipped through just before half-time, the use of the direct run into the heart of the defence proved its worth.

After the sides turned round, top scorer Jack Malthouse collected his ninth five-pointer in nine appearances - the third game in a row where Malthouse has opened the Bees' second-half scoring.

It took another 14 minutes to increase the lead with Crotch's charge under the posts to collect his third score of the season.

As the Bees swapped the side around, the lead was suddenly reduced with the concession of a penalty try with around ten minutes to play.

But skipper Booth went over the whitewash to seal the win with the fifth try of the game for Bees, making Alistair Blair's late score for Park only a consolation.