Hemel Stags Vs Featherstone Lions
8th November 2009
Full time score 6 - 60
Stephen Marshall, Jamie Acton, Kieran Dixon, Aaron Small, Mustafa Ali, Courtney Watson, Cameron Furlong, Stephen James, Jack Kavanagh, George Gower, Miles McLeod, Tom Grange, Callum Hurley, Erik Grimley.
With a lengthening short-term injury list and limited players to start with, the available match squad was always going to be strictly limited and in the event Hemel Stags could only muster a total of 14 players, compared to the 17 who travelled south from Yorkshire.
The Stags squad of players includes 11 players who are actually “Under 17’s”, compared to their opponents who are normally all “Under 18’s”(In full accordance with the competition rules), so they regularly start with a significant disadvantage and today was no exception.
The first half was well contested and the scores were reasonably competitive, with 4 tries for Featherstone and just a single converted try for the home side. (George Gower running the full length of the pitch to score under the posts). However, Featherstone had a player “Yellow carded” just before the break (Back chatting the referee), which allowed Stags to start the second half with an extra man advantage.
The second half was initially encouraging for Stags, as their opponents damaged their own cause by having a second player “Yellow carded” for 10 minutes (Punching).
Unfortunately the handicap of having two players off the field did nothing to slow Featherstone down, indeed the remaining players performed even better and they ran in three tries during this period, as a result of some very good and inventive play.
With 20 minutes of the match remaining, with Featherstone having been restored to their full strength Stags had their No. 4 player “Red Carded” for a cynical off the ball incident that left the team a man down for the rest of the match.
Stags having been “under the cosh” throughout the match and now being down to just 11 men due to another injury pick up on the field, the team really started to really struggle. The far superior northern opposition, who fully deserved their emphatic victory, ran in a final 4-converted tries.
Despite the obvious “one-sidedness” of the scoring, the Stags received fulsome praise from the opposition coach for having “Kept at it” throughout the match and not just giving up, so a very proud “Well done” to them all from the parents on the side lines. We have not been “let down” by this years performances. Indeed the general tackling and physical effort that was displayed this week was really pretty good, but Stags were starved of any real ball possession by this thoroughly impressive side.
Stags next match is away to Sheffield, when they will face a side that was also recently well beaten by high-flying Featherstone Lions, who also put 60 points on them, so we should approach this match with some realistic optimism.
Half time: 6 - 20
Ref: John Butler
Tries:
Goals:
Hemel Man of the Match: Erik Grimley