You have to hand it to Leeds. When the chips are down and the pressure is on, is there a better team in the country?
All week prior to the Super League showpiece event I had favoured the Rhinos. I thought their general know-how and big game experience would see them through and so it proved.
To be honest this was one of the best Grand Finals, a tough, tense, tight encounter and I expect for Rhinos fans, completely makes up for missing out on lifting the Challenge Cup.
I know that Kevin Sinfield has his critics in the game and also for performances at international level but he is a superb captain, he marshalled his troops throughout and prompted and kicked well out of hand, despite being felled after one such kick with an almighty blow to the jaw. His 21 successive play-off goals points to nerves of steel and indeed he kicked five on the big Old Trafford stage. I have long been an admirer of his traits, his professionalism and suggest to the Headingley paymasters that if they are considering "making statues of them" to quote Brian McDermott then they look no further than Sinfield initially.
I thought that Carl Ablett would have got a lot closer to Sinfield in chasing man of the match. He played a varied centre/back row role and scored a crucial try in addition to having a hand in the clincher with the final movement and pass before Ryan Hall gleefully crossed at the corner.
Rob Burrow too was magnificent out of dummy half. Last season's Harry Sunderland trophy winner for me had far more control on his game and was more readily involved than his classy cameo from 2011 yet came nowhere near Leeds captain marvel in the end.
What of the losers Warrington?
They were brave, Ben Westwood played it tough and Richie Myler and Lee Briers never stopped while it was a fascinating confrontation in the centres between Ryan Atkins and Kallum Watkins and both Mickey Higham and Michael Monaghan. I also thought that Chris Hill did not disgrace himself and has certainly gone from strength to strength since stepping up from the Championship, but crucially for me Leeds had the edge.
The Wolves started the game superbly and deservedly edged the first fifteen minutes with Richie Myler spotting the slightest of gaps in Leeds line to cross for the opening try just a couple of minutes in with a combination of quick thinking and quick feet. Fullback Brett Hodgson converted but the Rhinos served notice of their danger when a long ball from Kevin Sinfield seemingly put Ryan Hall in at the corner, only to be ruled forward.
The sides swapped difficult hanging kicks with Ben Jones-Bishop being targeted by Warrington.
Leeds then steadied the ship and a towering kick from Sinfield was spilled under pressure by Joel Monaghan, allowing Carl Ablett the chance to step into an opening, twist in the tackle and offload for Sinfield, looping round to plant the ball over the line in the 18th minute and convert to level the match from an acute angle at six-all.
The next 15 minutes belonged to Leeds with Sinfield nudging the Rhinos in front with a 24th minute penalty and Jones-Bishop casting his earlier handling nerves aside to finish smartly on the right hand side for Sinfield to make it 14-6.
Similarly to their Elimination victory over St Helens, Warrington surged back in the last seven minutes of the half and gained momentum with quick play and when Leeds were split down the Wolves left side, clever link up work created space and numbers for Lee Briers to bullet a pass for right winger Joel Monaghan to claim his 22nd try of the season. Hodgson converted and was on hand to kick a penalty to level the game at 14-all on the stroke of half-time.
Early in the second half, Warrington enjoyed a greater share of field position and possession and Leeds saw skipper Sinfield felled after making a clearance kick, a clash of heads with Michael Monaghan putting the Leeds man on the floor. Somehow, Sinfield regained his feet and played himself back into the game. Clinically the Wolves took advantage of the confusion with Hodgson's smart work out of dummy half catching Leeds out and Ryan Atkins went one on one with Kallum Watkins and over the youngster to claim a try that put Warrington in front again.
Leeds kept their composure and laid on the pressure with only good defence holding the Rhinos at bay, but as the penalties began to stack up against Warrington, the Wolves reeled and Shaun Lunt spied the opportunity to dive forward out of dummy half and release the ball at the right time for Ablett to go over Briers to claim a crucial try with Sinfield again potting a difficult conversion to edge the Rhinos in front at 20-18.
Warrington tried to come up with a telling play but handling errors broke their rhythm and Leeds countered superbly to score the clinching try eight minutes from time with some excellent passing and poise that eventually saw Ablett stand up Joel Monaghan long enough for Hall to skirt around the outside and Sinfield converted magnificently to secure a sixth title in nine years for the Rhinos.
Showing posts with label Grand Final. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grand Final. Show all posts
Sunday, 7 October 2012
Saturday, 20 November 2010
#rugbyleague BLOG 2010/11 Match Record 2: Gillette National Youth League Grand Final
Entry 18, 20th November 2010.
Continuing my ambitious project of recording all of the rugby league games I attend over the course of the next year, here is my second installment and a full match report.
Venue: Bigfellas Stadium, Featherstone.
Date: 19/11/10
Match: DEWSBURY CELTIC V INCE ROSE BRIDGE
DEWSBURY CELTIC 6
INCE ROSE BRIDGE 42
By DAVE PARKINSON at Bigfellas Stadium, Featherstone.
Foggy Featherstone was the setting for the last Gillette National Youth League game before the competition switches to summer in 2011. A tough truncated season came down to a Grand Final between underdogs Dewsbury Celtic and Ince Rose Bridge.
Despite a plucky effort from Celtic and in particular stand-off Andy Bates and multi-skilled prop Josh Brooke, it was the Wigan team that dominated the game from the start with Kenny Baker, Declan McLoughlin and Jack Morrison particularly outstanding.
The moment prop Jordan Lyons spilled the ball on the first carry, Celtic were on the back foot and the impressive Baker was twice hauled down close to the line before human bowling ball Morrison knocked-on.
Bates gave an example of his tricky running style but it was Ince Rose Bridge that opened the score in the fourth minute when a towering kick from halfback Connor Matthews dropped from the gloom and Celtic fullback Josh Sykes couldn’t take. The rebound off his body came back off the posts and Matthews pounced for Baker to kick the first of five goals.
The signs were ominous for Dewsbury Celtic when smart footwork from Declan McLoughlin saw the stand-off create a gap. Ince Rose Bridge then went for the kick again from Matthews and centre Joe English tapped it away from Sykes into his other hand from the bounce and then had enough momentum to get to the line. Baker stroked the conversion over the crossbar and Rose Bridge led 12-0.
The Wigan side piled forward and nearly came up with a third try from Danny Robbins only for a perfect last ditch tackle from Celtic wing Joe Edwards to halt the movement. Not to be denied, Rose Bridge nabbed their third try on 16 minutes when clever work from Matthews and prop Brad Roden released McLoughlin on a veering run to the try-line.
By this time Ince were on a roll and the Dewsbury team had no answer, being marched back seventy metres in two minutes thanks to big forward drives and two penalties. Centre Danny Farnworth was kept from scoring before Baker twisted over from dummy half to ensure a 22-0 lead inside the first twenty minutes.
With Bates; Brooke and Lewis Wilson finding some form, Celtic rolled up their sleeves and only some fine clean-up work from Liam Hand stopped the Yorkshire side from scoring after a magical run from Bates and a solid kick from scrum-half Ryan Crossley.
Eventually Dewsbury Celtic were rewarded with the final play before half-time. Taking the ball inside his own half Brooke spotted space and fired a perfect cut-out pass left. This put centre Matthew Sheridan in a bit of space and he found the support of Oliver Hallas for a great finish. Sheridan’s conversion made it 22-6 at half-time.
The underdogs made the better start to the second half with a bomb from Brooke being spilled but all Dewsbury’s early pressure came to nothing when Elliot Castlehouse knocked-on at the line.
Ince Rose Bridge quickly redressed the balance, first with a crunching English tackle forcing a drop out from another intelligent Matthews kick and then substitute Adam Jones broke the line and ran 30 metres. From the very next play, Rose Bridge trio of Matthews, McLoughlin and Baker combined for Nathan Penny to score their fifth try and there was more to come.
Another big surge from Jones caused problems for Dewsbury Celtic and as they were still trying to organise McLoughlin grubbered through for Matthews to touch down. Baker made it 32-6 with the conversion and was the key man as Ince got to within ten metres of the line. His quick play-the-ball gave the chance for Matty Meadon to scoot over.
Trailing 38-6, Bates tried to inspire his team and went close with a typical piece of running while big substitute Thomas Quinn also won a penalty but the defence was impregnable as Castlehouse was denied again.
At the other end McLoughlin forced a drop out with a tackle on Sykes behind the line before a classic dummy and step saw him collect a second try. It wasn’t quite the perfect night for the stand-off, he was sin binned four minutes from the end for deliberately slowing a play-the-ball. Despite a spirited finish from Celtic, the Rose Bridge defence held firm to secure a comfortable win before they collected the trophy from Great Britain rugby league legend Garry Schofield.
DEWSBURY CELTIC:
1 Josh Sykes
2 Joe Edwards
3 Matthew Sheridan
4 Elliot Castlehouse
5 Oliver Hallas
6 Andy Bates
7 Ryan Crossley
8 Josh Brooke
9 Danny Buckley
10 Jordan Lyons
11 James Delany
12 Tommy Crabtree
13 Lewis Wilson
Subs (All Used)
14 Sam Whitworth
15 Andy Smith
16 Jack Maguire
17 Thomas Quinn
Try: Hallas (35).
Goal: Sheridan 1/1.
INCE ROSE BRIDGE:
1 Nathan Penny
2 Liam Hand
3 Danny Farnworth
4 Joe English
5 Danny Robbins
6 Declan McLoughlin
7 Connor Matthews
8 Jack Morrison
9 Matty Meadon
10 Brad Roden
11 Mike Houghton
12 Mike Kenny
13 Kenny Baker
Subs (All Used)
14 Ben Sumner
15 Adam Jones
16 Matty Cambell
17 Jake Robins
Tries: Matthews (4, 49), English (8), McLaughlin (16, 60), Baker (19), Penny (44), Meadon (52).
Goals: Baker 5/8.
Official Man-of-the-Match: Kenny Baker.
Scoring Sequence:
0-6, 0-12, 0-18, 0-22, 6-22; 6-26, 6-32, 6-38, 6-42.
Continuing my ambitious project of recording all of the rugby league games I attend over the course of the next year, here is my second installment and a full match report.
Venue: Bigfellas Stadium, Featherstone.
Date: 19/11/10
Match: DEWSBURY CELTIC V INCE ROSE BRIDGE
DEWSBURY CELTIC 6
INCE ROSE BRIDGE 42
By DAVE PARKINSON at Bigfellas Stadium, Featherstone.
Foggy Featherstone was the setting for the last Gillette National Youth League game before the competition switches to summer in 2011. A tough truncated season came down to a Grand Final between underdogs Dewsbury Celtic and Ince Rose Bridge.
Despite a plucky effort from Celtic and in particular stand-off Andy Bates and multi-skilled prop Josh Brooke, it was the Wigan team that dominated the game from the start with Kenny Baker, Declan McLoughlin and Jack Morrison particularly outstanding.
The moment prop Jordan Lyons spilled the ball on the first carry, Celtic were on the back foot and the impressive Baker was twice hauled down close to the line before human bowling ball Morrison knocked-on.
Bates gave an example of his tricky running style but it was Ince Rose Bridge that opened the score in the fourth minute when a towering kick from halfback Connor Matthews dropped from the gloom and Celtic fullback Josh Sykes couldn’t take. The rebound off his body came back off the posts and Matthews pounced for Baker to kick the first of five goals.
The signs were ominous for Dewsbury Celtic when smart footwork from Declan McLoughlin saw the stand-off create a gap. Ince Rose Bridge then went for the kick again from Matthews and centre Joe English tapped it away from Sykes into his other hand from the bounce and then had enough momentum to get to the line. Baker stroked the conversion over the crossbar and Rose Bridge led 12-0.
The Wigan side piled forward and nearly came up with a third try from Danny Robbins only for a perfect last ditch tackle from Celtic wing Joe Edwards to halt the movement. Not to be denied, Rose Bridge nabbed their third try on 16 minutes when clever work from Matthews and prop Brad Roden released McLoughlin on a veering run to the try-line.
By this time Ince were on a roll and the Dewsbury team had no answer, being marched back seventy metres in two minutes thanks to big forward drives and two penalties. Centre Danny Farnworth was kept from scoring before Baker twisted over from dummy half to ensure a 22-0 lead inside the first twenty minutes.
With Bates; Brooke and Lewis Wilson finding some form, Celtic rolled up their sleeves and only some fine clean-up work from Liam Hand stopped the Yorkshire side from scoring after a magical run from Bates and a solid kick from scrum-half Ryan Crossley.
Eventually Dewsbury Celtic were rewarded with the final play before half-time. Taking the ball inside his own half Brooke spotted space and fired a perfect cut-out pass left. This put centre Matthew Sheridan in a bit of space and he found the support of Oliver Hallas for a great finish. Sheridan’s conversion made it 22-6 at half-time.
The underdogs made the better start to the second half with a bomb from Brooke being spilled but all Dewsbury’s early pressure came to nothing when Elliot Castlehouse knocked-on at the line.
Ince Rose Bridge quickly redressed the balance, first with a crunching English tackle forcing a drop out from another intelligent Matthews kick and then substitute Adam Jones broke the line and ran 30 metres. From the very next play, Rose Bridge trio of Matthews, McLoughlin and Baker combined for Nathan Penny to score their fifth try and there was more to come.
Another big surge from Jones caused problems for Dewsbury Celtic and as they were still trying to organise McLoughlin grubbered through for Matthews to touch down. Baker made it 32-6 with the conversion and was the key man as Ince got to within ten metres of the line. His quick play-the-ball gave the chance for Matty Meadon to scoot over.
Trailing 38-6, Bates tried to inspire his team and went close with a typical piece of running while big substitute Thomas Quinn also won a penalty but the defence was impregnable as Castlehouse was denied again.
At the other end McLoughlin forced a drop out with a tackle on Sykes behind the line before a classic dummy and step saw him collect a second try. It wasn’t quite the perfect night for the stand-off, he was sin binned four minutes from the end for deliberately slowing a play-the-ball. Despite a spirited finish from Celtic, the Rose Bridge defence held firm to secure a comfortable win before they collected the trophy from Great Britain rugby league legend Garry Schofield.
DEWSBURY CELTIC:
1 Josh Sykes
2 Joe Edwards
3 Matthew Sheridan
4 Elliot Castlehouse
5 Oliver Hallas
6 Andy Bates
7 Ryan Crossley
8 Josh Brooke
9 Danny Buckley
10 Jordan Lyons
11 James Delany
12 Tommy Crabtree
13 Lewis Wilson
Subs (All Used)
14 Sam Whitworth
15 Andy Smith
16 Jack Maguire
17 Thomas Quinn
Try: Hallas (35).
Goal: Sheridan 1/1.
INCE ROSE BRIDGE:
1 Nathan Penny
2 Liam Hand
3 Danny Farnworth
4 Joe English
5 Danny Robbins
6 Declan McLoughlin
7 Connor Matthews
8 Jack Morrison
9 Matty Meadon
10 Brad Roden
11 Mike Houghton
12 Mike Kenny
13 Kenny Baker
Subs (All Used)
14 Ben Sumner
15 Adam Jones
16 Matty Cambell
17 Jake Robins
Tries: Matthews (4, 49), English (8), McLaughlin (16, 60), Baker (19), Penny (44), Meadon (52).
Goals: Baker 5/8.
Official Man-of-the-Match: Kenny Baker.
Scoring Sequence:
0-6, 0-12, 0-18, 0-22, 6-22; 6-26, 6-32, 6-38, 6-42.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)